Jeannine Blake Honored with URI’s '10 Under 10' Award

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Jeannine Blake.

Assistant Professor Jeannine Blake, PhD '22, RN, has been named a recipient of the University of Rhode Island’s 10 Under 10 Award. The honor recognizes outstanding early-career URI alumni whose work exemplifies URI's core values. Blake was selected for her leadership at the intersection of nursing and engineering. She is affiliated with the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, where she has led research focused on intravenous smart pump safety and flow. Her multidisciplinary efforts aim to reduce harm, streamline nursing workflow, and translate device innovations into safer, more usable technologies for clinical teams. Staying grounded in clinical reality is something she is most proud of, Blake says.

"Much of what I’ve done early in my career has been about building bridges—between nursing and engineering, research and practice, and innovation and patient safety. It's rewarding to see that approach recognized."

—Jeannine Blake, PhD '22

After graduating from URI in 2016, Blake began her professional career as a registered nurse in critical care and post-anesthesia settings. Those formative clinical experiences shaped her research focus on how complex medical technologies are used in real-world care environments and what design changes could reduce errors and clinician burden. 

One of Blake's favorite memories from URI includes the pivotal moment during her pinning ceremony in which a nursing professor encouraged Blake to pursue a PhD. "It wasn’t until several years later that I realized she had seen something in me that I hadn’t yet recognized. Looking back, that moment feels like an early affirmation of where I would eventually land," Blake says.

Blake would land at UMass Amherst, earning her PhD in Nursing from EMCON in 2022, as well as completing a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

"My PhD education at the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing fundamentally shaped how I think as a nurse scientist. It pushed me to ask different questions, work across disciplines, and design research that speaks directly to both clinical and engineering audiences."

—Jeannine Blake, PhD '22

This year's '10 Under 10' award recipients will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026 at a ceremony in Rhode Island.