Lanny Inabnit, a clinical assistant professor, and Jody Lester, an associate professor, were recognized for their extraordinary contributions to the profession of respiratory care by the American Association for Respiratory Care. Inabnit and Lester, both with the Respiratory Care Degree Advancement Program, were awarded the prestigious honor of being recognized as fellows for the Fellowship of the American Association for Respiratory Care.
This is one of the highest honors conferred by the association. An official ceremony conferring their “fellow” designation will be held at the association’s international congress Nov. 9-12 in New Orleans.
“The Department of Respiratory Care would like to extend a huge congratulations to both faculty members as their service is appreciated beyond words,” said T.J. Wing, an associate professor in the department.
Inabnit earned his Associates of Applied Science in Respiratory Therapy Technology in 1994 from Southern Illinois University, a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Management in 2009 from East Carolina University, and a Master of Science in Respiratory Care Leadership in 2014 from Northeastern University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Services Research from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is very active in the North Carolina Society for Respiratory Care, serving as one of the Delegates representing North Carolina in the AARC House of Delegates. He has been an active AARC member since 1993. His research interests focus on COPD patients and comorbidities and length of stay. He also is interested in diaphragm weakness in mechanically ventilated patients.
Lester earned her Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Boise State University. She has been teaching in respiratory care since 1983. Her areas of interest are the quality improvement in health care, evidence-based care, adult and neonatal respiratory care, the effects of tobacco on pulmonary health and tobacco cessation. An additional area of expertise is online education; she has been teaching online courses since 2000. She is an advocate for undergraduate research and enjoys involving students in projects which answer relevant clinical questions and which teach them correct research processes. Lester is a reviewer for the American Respiratory Care Foundation and she has presented at the American Association for Respiratory Care Summer Forum and International Congress on the topics of designing online courses engaging online students, assessment of gas exchange, evaluation health care literature, patient advocacy, and the fetal origin of adult diseases. Her research focus is mechanical ventilation.
Lonny Ashworth, professor, became an American Association for Respiratory Care fellow in 2012. With Inabnit and Lester’s induction, 30 percent of the department’s faculty are now fellows in the Fellowship of the American Association for Respiratory Care.