Michael Vernon Relf

Michael Relf, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, is the Mary T. Champagne Distinguished Professor of Nursing and Dean in the Duke University School of Nursing and a Research Professor in the Duke Global Health Institute.  From the period 2008-2014, he served as the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education and Director of the Accelerated BSN Program in the School of Nursing at Duke University. From 2014-2023, he served as the Associate Dean for Global and Community Health Affairs. 

His research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of HIV using mixed-methods particularly focusing on intimate partner violence; HIV-related stigma, intersectional stigma, and experiences with everyday discrimination among persons living with HIV; and interventions to promote engagement in HIV-oriented primary medical care and disclosure.  Additionally, through his research, he has documented the role of the professional and advanced practice nurse in the prevention, care and treatment of persons at risk for or living with HIV.

Dr. Relf has examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and HIV risk behaviors among men who have sex with men. This work received international press attention (Germany, France, Chile, United Kingdom, Romania, Turkey, Spain) and appeared on the front page of The Boston Globe (Dec. 18, 2002) and in the Toronto Star (Feb. 15, 2003).  As a co-investigator on a President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded project to build nursing capacity in the context of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, Dr. Relf, in collaboration with colleagues from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, published the Essential nursing competencies related to HIV and AIDS (see Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS, Care, 22 (Supplement 1), e5-e40).  Subsequently, these competencies have been adapted to the context of HIV/AIDS nursing practice in Canada and Thailand. He has also conducted a national practice validation study to understand the entry-level competencies required of primary care nurse practitioners providing HIV specialty care (JANAC, 2016).  

Dr. Relf’s research has been funded by the American Nurses Foundation; Sigma Theta Tau International; The Special Projects of National Significance, HIV-AIDS Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services; the National Institutes of Nursing Research/National Institutes of Health; the Fogarty International Center/National Institutes of Health; and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Dr. Relf is an Advanced HIV/AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (AACRN) and certified nurse educator (CNE).  He was recognized by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care with the Frank Lamendola Achievement Award for Nursing Leadership in HIV Care (2003), the Spirit of Nursing Award for mentoring (2006), Researcher Recognition Award (2017), and was awarded the President's Award (2024).  He was selected for Fellowship into the American Academy of Nursing in 2008 and was the co-chair of the Emerging and Infectious Diseases Expert Panel from 2008 - 2010.  In 2019, he was selected for Fellowship into the Academy of Nursing Education of the National League for Nursing.

Prior to joining DUSON in 2008, Dr. Relf was the Chair of the Department of Nursing at Georgetown University and the Associate Medical Administrator/Director of Nursing and Clinical Support Services at Whitman-Walker Clinic. He earned his BS with a major in nursing from South Dakota University, his MS in nursing administration in healthcare services from Georgetown University, and his PhD in nursing from Johns Hopkins University.  He was recognized by South Dakota State University as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2014.