Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics Marks 35 Years of Learning, Legacy, and Leadership

August 4, 2026
Award winners at SINI

For 35 years, informatics nurses, clinicians, educators, researchers, and innovators driving the digital transformation of health care have flocked to the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) to attend its annual Summer Institute in Nursing informatics (SINI).  Whether offered online or in person, SINI has been the premier gathering to share insights about the critical role of nursing informatics in patient care and improving outcomes.

Held July 16 - 17 this year, SINI brought nearly 200 attendees in person to UMSON’s Baltimore campus and featured sessions on artificial intelligence (AI) governance, data stewardship, patient engagement, clinical innovation, informatics education, and the evolving role of nurses in AI-enabled health systems.

For complete program details, visit the official SINI 2026 event page.

Retired Capt. Kimberly Elenberg, principal project scientist at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute Auton Lab, presented the Day 1 morning keynote, “Beyond Informatics: Nurses as Architects of the AI-Enabled Future of Care.”

Attendees expressed their appreciation for Elenberg’s powerful insights. “Nurses have always been that safety layer, the orchestration layer between a system and a person, a patient," Elenberg said. "What I want to assure you is that AI does not remove that job. What it does is it makes us the architects of it.”

SINI recognized 24 nursing informatics leaders on Day 1 with awards presented in four categories: Foundation and Legacy Builders; Enterprise and Executive; Innovation, Data, and Analytics Leaders; and Education and Scholarship Leaders.

Alumni were invited to watch a live demonstration showcasing the capabilities of JAIMIE, (Joint Artificial Intelligence Model in Education), an immersive virtual teaching assistant built around an instructor’s content, expectations, and teaching style, developed by faculty members at UMSON.

Ronald A. Berk, PhD, offered some advice on how to grow “gritty” in the workplace during his humorous Day 1 endnote, “Growing Grit with Humor and Laughter.”

“When things are hard, you bounce back. That is one thing that you need to be gritty, but not the only thing. You also need a passion.”

Retired Rear Adm. Carol Romano, dean of the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, reflected on the transformation of nursing informatics during her distinguished lecture, “Legacy to Leadership: The Lived Experience.”

“Nursing always drives the technology and not vice versa.”

Cynthia Russell, DNP, RN, NI-C, EBP-C, informatics nurse specialist at Frederick Health Hospital and an adjunct faculty member at UMSON, emphasized the key points in her Day 2 concurrent session, “Slaying the Data Dragon,” with a giant light-up sword.

A poster session on Day 2 provided attendees with another avenue for learning.

Michelle C. Lardner, DNP, RN, NI-BC, chief nursing information officer at UVA Health, presented her Day 2 endnote, “Charting the Course: Every Disruptor Has a Navigator.”

“This is our time. This is informatics’ time to be leading this. We're translators. AI is where we should be translating at this point.”