Schola N. Matovu, PhD

Dr. Schola Matovu is a gerontological nursing researcher, educator, and social scientist, working to advance science and contribute to alleviating social injustices such as poverty, gender and health inequalities within the global community. Through advocacy, service and empowerment, she strives to advance the nursing profession and promote health, well-being & quality of life of older adults, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities. Dr. Matovu’s foundational research explored the experiences and psychosocial well-being of Ugandan grandparent-caregivers for grandchildren affected by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Her current research is focused on using qualitative formative research and a community-engaged approach to inform the development of an economic empowerment, peer support, and health promotion intervention for grandmother-caregivers to grandchildren in Uganda. This 12-month pilot research is supported by the University of California GloCal Health Fellowship (co-funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and Fogarty International Center). Dr. Matovu is also the co-founder and Executive Director of Nurse-to-Nurse Global Initiative, a nonprofit whose mission is, in part, to empower and promote leadership and professional development of nurses, especially those in under-resourced settings. She also recently completed the 2021 U.S. Cohort of the Women Lift Health Leadership Journey of the Women Leaders in Global Health (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) whose mission is to promote gender equality within global health leadership. Dr. Matovu’s commitment to global health was recently acknowledged by the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences with the Early Career Global Health Scientist Award and the 2022 Jane Norbeck Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Matovu continues to be committed to advancing nursing and women empowerment as evidenced in her professional engagements such as her recent participation as a keynote speaker at the Rotary International, Kampala, Uganda Conference (honoring Nurses & Midwives) and as an invited speaker at the Utah Organization of Nurse Leaders Conference at which she gave a talk on 'Women and Leadership: Leading Self, Leading (with) Others, Leading Change'