Salisbury, MD – Robert L. Joyner, Jr., PhD, RRT, RRT-ACCS, FAARC, Director of the Richard A. Henson Research Institute at TidalHealth, was recently presented with the
National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC)’s highest honor, the Sister Mary Yvonne Jenn, CRNA, RRT Lifetime Achievement Award, at the 2023 American Association for Respiratory Care Congress in Nashville, Tenn. This award is bestowed annually to an individual who epitomizes the respiratory care profession and contributes significantly to the respiratory care credentialing system during their career.
Dr. Joyner earned a B.S. in Respiratory Therapy from Salisbury University and a PhD in Physiology from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. He has been a respiratory therapist (RT) since 1988. Over the years, he’s held many roles in the respiratory world including bedside RT, clinical instructor, director of clinical education, and the program director at Salisbury University from 2003 to 2019.
Dr. Joyner started his NBRC journey by earning his first national respiratory care credential in 1989 and worked his way through the ranks. In the past 14 years, he’s served on numerous NBRC committees including the Written Registry Examination Committee, the Acute Critical Care Specialist Committee, and the Board of Trustees. In 2016 and 2017, Dr. Joyner served as President of the entire national credentialing organization. During his time as President, he spearheaded numerous endeavors that continue to shape the NBRC today.
In 2019, Dr. Joyner decided to focus on his passion for research and accepted a position as Director of the Richard A. Henson Research Institute at TidalHealth. Despite this change in trajectory, Dr. Joyner’s lifelong passion for academia, leadership and research prepared him well for this role. Dr. Joyner’s experience with the NBRC’s multidisciplinary national board exam development is invaluable to his position as Director because it provided him with the comfortability to execute projects requiring collegial multidisciplinary cooperation, a skill that is essential in clinical trial management. Outside of his work with the NBRC, Dr. Joyner cites his time as Associate Dean of the Henson School of Science and Technology as well as Director of the School of Health Sciences at Salisbury University as influential in molding him into the leader he is today.
As Director of The Richard A. Henson Research Institute, Dr. Joyner is responsible for the execution of clinical trials from start to finish. He is also responsible for providing research education across the TidalHealth system, a task he has taken in stride since joining the research department. Under his leadership, the Research Institute has transformed from a siloed oncology research effort to what it is today: a thriving, system-level resource that provides opportunities that extend care offerings for TidalHealth providers.
When asked to recall a memorable moment since joining the Research Institute, Dr. Joyner said, “I am proud of my team that carried out the COVID-19 research effort of an aerosolized investigational medication. We were the highest enrollers in the world and not a single person on that trial at TidalHealth died.” This is a demonstration of the world-class care that the research team is capable of delivering.
It is with great gratitude and excitement that we congratulate Dr. Joyner on this tremendous achievement. We admire his dedication to the respiratory care profession and look forward to his continued triumphs as Director of the Research Institute.
