About Anne Berit Petersen, PhD, MS, MPH

Dr. Anne Berit Petersen is an Associate Professor in the graduate program at Loma Linda University School of Nursing, with a joint appointment in the School of Public Health. She also serves as Director of the Office of Global Nursing. A Clinical Nurse Specialist in Maternal/Child Nursing, she brings extensive experience in clinical nursing, health promotion, research, and international nursing education. She earned her PhD in Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education in 2017.

Dr. Petersen's research focuses on tobacco and nicotine cessation, maternal and child health, and community-engaged interventions to improve health outcomes among underserved populations. She is a collaborating faculty member of the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Research Program at Loma Linda University Health Cancer Center, contributing to interdisciplinary research on tobacco cessation and tobacco-related health disparities. As Principal Investigator of the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP)-funded Smoke-Free HOPE study, she led a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of integrating community health worker-delivered tobacco cessation support into prenatal care. Her broader research includes secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco-related health disparities, and cessation interventions in diverse populations and settings, both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Petersen has extensive international experience in nursing education, leadership development, and institutional capacity building. Her work has included clinical and educational initiatives in China, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua. As Director of the Office of Global Nursing, she supports international academic partnerships, graduate nursing education, and institutional development across the global Adventist healthcare and education network. Her commitment to advancing the philosophy and practice of whole person care is also reflected in her work as co-editor of Whole Person Care: Adventist Nursing in Action (2024).

Across her research, teaching, and international collaborations, Dr. Petersen is committed to strengthening the capacity of nurses and other healthcare professionals, including community health workers, to advance health promotion, disease prevention, whole person care, and equitable access to healthcare.