Associate Dean of Research and Development, Professor
Contact Information
Email: nruggiano@ua.edu
Departments
- Research
Areas of Interest and Expertise
- Dementia Caregiving
- Health Information Technology
- Health Policy
- Health Self-Management
Education
- PhD, University of Delaware
- MSW, Temple University
- BA, University of Delaware
Bio
Dr. Nicole Ruggiano is a Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Development within the School of Social Work. Her research and advocacy work focuses on supporting the health and well-being of older adults, especially those impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She leads and co-leads research teams that develop and test technologies to support dementia care and caregiving, with funding from sources that include the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; R21HS026571), the National Institute on Aging (NIA; R01AG068572), the National Science Foundation (NSF; Award Number 1951974), and the John A. Hartford Foundation. Dr. Ruggiano is also a founding Co-Chief Executive Officer of Person First Technology, LLC, which commercializes research from her teams.
As a policy practitioner and community advocate, Dr. Ruggiano was appointed by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to the Alabama Lifespan Respite Coalition and serves as Chair of the Alabama House Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force Sub-Committee on Research and Innovation. As a Health and Aging Policy Policy Fellow, she worked with AHRQ to advance care for people with multiple chronic conditions. She founded Alabama Caregiver Connect, a university initiative linking caregivers to research and community resources, and is a regular public speaker across Alabama, with particular commitment to rural communities.
As a leader in higher education, Dr. Ruggiano was the founding director of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) Program at the University of Alabama and currently leads the School’s research enterprise as Associate Dean. She is a Council on Research Leadership Fellow with the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and a Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Fellow.
Dr. Ruggiano has been recognized as a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and received the Leadership Award from the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work and the University of Alabama President’s Faculty Research Award. She was also selected as an American Political Science Association Congressional Health and Aging Policy Fellow (2018–2019) and a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar (2011–2013). She holds appointments as an Affiliated Scientist for the UAB Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Affiliated Associate Professor in the UAB Department of Neurology, and recently served as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Edinburgh.