Dr. Patrice K. Nicholas completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at Fitchburg State University, and a Master of Science in Nursing degree, and a Doctor of Nursing Science degree at Boston University. From 1996-1999, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health focusing her research on symptom management in HIV disease and global health and completing a Master of Public Health degree in International Health. In May 2010, Dr. Nicholas received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree Honoris Causa from her alma mater, Fitchburg State University. In 2007, she was selected as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of KwaZulu-Natal focusing on adherence to HIV and TB medications. In 2008, she was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. From 2006- 2019, Dr. Nicholas served as Director of Global Health and Academic Partnerships at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she also co-led the efforts in their successful American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet journey.
Dr. Nicholas was a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the School of Nursing, who taught in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, and was actively involved in the curriculum redesign of the DNP program. She has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, two texts, and many invited and peer-reviewed presentations including several manuscripts on climate change, climate justice and climate-related health consequences.
Dr. Nicholas served as director of the MGH Institute of Health Profession’s Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health and co-director for Policy and Advocacy at the MGH Center for the Environment and Health. She is among eight established scientists with expertise in climate and health who will contribute to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an Inaugural NIH Climate Change and Health Scholar, sharing knowledge and helping to build capacity for conducting climate-related and health research.
In summer 2024, Dr. Nicholas served as an invited Visiting Scholar in Climate Change and Health at the University of Oxford Harris Manchester College in Oxford, England in the United Kingdom.
