Mindy Tinkle is an Associate Professor and Chair, Research & PhD Studies at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing.  Prior to coming to New Mexico, Dr. Tinkle was at the National Institutes of Health where she served for about a decade as Research Training Director for the National Institute of Nursing Research and as Scientific Review Officer for the Center for Scientific Review.   She received her PhD in nursing from The University of Texas at Austin and is a certified women’s health care nurse practitioner.  Her clinical background and research interests are in women’s health promotion.  Dr. Tinkle has particular interest in genetic nursing scholarship, with specific training at the NIH/NINR Summer Genetics Institute (SGI), both as an attendee and as SGI Program Director for 6 years.  She has served in leadership roles on several national nursing initiatives directed at building research skills in genetics among nurse scientists as well as increasing genetic knowledge and skills in nursing education.  Dr. Tinkle is actively involved in the University of New Mexico Clinical and Translational Science Center in Community Engagement Research and Comparative Effectiveness Research initiatives.