Kathy Richards, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, joined Polisher Research Institute as Director in August, 2007. She also serves as a Professor at the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Richards is a nationally renowned sleep and geriatrics researcher. She was previously at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing, where she was the Alice Sun Professor of Nursing and Director of the College's Tailored Biobehavioral Interventions Research Center. She also helped establish and co-direct the College's John A. Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence. She was the Associate Director for Health Services Research, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. A member of the American Academy of Nursing, Dr. Richards has been particularly involved in studies about sleep patterns, disorders, and improvement through nonpharmacologic interventions (such as social activities and exercise) in older adults who have dementia. She has studied tailored biobehavioral interventions and provider practice patterns in nursing home care. She was the inaugural recipient of the UAMS College of Nursing's Alice Sun Professorship in Geriatric Nursing; and was awarded the 2003 Outstanding Alumni Award for Research at UAMS College of Nursing. In 2002 Dr. Richards was named a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and in 2005 she was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her curriculum vitae is available.