IU Health Nurse Scientist Receives National Award

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – May 5, 2026 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will honor Renee Twibell, PhD, RN, CNE, with an AACN Pioneering Spirit Award.

One of AACN’s Visionary Leadership awards, the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing and relate to the association’s mission, vision and values. The official presentation will occur during the 2026 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, in San Diego, May 17-20.

Twibell serves as the nurse scientist for Indiana University’s IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana. She is associate professor emerita and current faculty in the School of Nursing at Ball State University, where she teaches undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students.

She has a particular interest in instrument development to advance the science of nursing, such as scales to measure nurses’ perceptions of family presence during resuscitation and to assess patients’ perceptions of their personal risk of falling. She has worked with colleagues to design and test multiple instruments, several of which have been used in research studies conducted on four continents.

With her clinical background in critical care, education and research, Twibell has published over 40 refereed articles, completed 30 research studies and given nearly 300 professional presentations. She has delivered more than 70 presentations at NTI over the past 20 consecutive years, often using the opportunity to mentor and co‑present with nurse colleagues.

Twibell has received state and national awards for leadership, mentoring, research and education, including being selected as Nurse Educator of the Year in Indiana in Indianapolis Star’s Salute to Nurses.

She completed her doctoral work in nursing science at Indiana University, Indianapolis. She earned a master’s degree in nursing education from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, and her bachelor’s in nursing from Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, Illinois.

About the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award: The annual AACN Pioneering Spirit Award recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing regionally and nationally, and relate to AACN’s mission, vision and values. Recipients of this Visionary Leadership Award come from business, academia and healthcare. Other Visionary Leadership awards, AACN’s highest honor, include the Lifetime Membership Award and the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career.

About the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition: Established in 1974, AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI) represents the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Bedside nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners attend NTI.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 55 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with more than 134,000 members and over 170 chapters in the United States.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org