image: 2026 Brown Foundation Award winners, front, Ellen Mullen (L) and Lakeisha Keller-Davis (R).
Credit: UT MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center yesterday awarded Lakeisha Keller-Davis, RN, MSN, CMSRN, and Ellen C. Mullen, Ph.D., APRN-BC, with the 2026 Brown Foundation Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing, the institution’s highest recognition of nursing excellence honoring outstanding patient care and clinical practice.
The awards recognize both an outstanding clinical nurse and an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) for their exceptional leadership, compassionate care and commitment to improving patient outcomes. Each category includes a $15,000 grand prize, with two additional finalists in each category receiving $5,000, bringing the total amount awarded to $50,000 across six finalists. Thanks to The Brown Foundation’s generosity and renewed investment, the institution has been able to award twice the number of recipients and cash prizes in each of the past two years.
“For 45 years, The Brown Foundation’s extraordinary support has helped elevate recognition of oncology nursing excellence,” said Kim Slusser, Ph.D., RN, NEA-BC, CHPN, chief nurse executive at UT MD Anderson. “We are grateful for the ability to honor our outstanding nurses, whose clinical expertise, compassion and leadership make a meaningful impact on our patients and advance our mission every day.”
Awardees embody excellence in oncology nursing
Winners were selected by a panel of UT MD Anderson clinical faculty, nursing leaders, patient care administrators and members of a patient family advisory committee. In addition to the monetary prize, each awardee received a pin and a commemorative crystal plaque.
Lakeisha Keller-Davis is a nurse leader whose dedication to patients, colleagues and the nursing profession has made a meaningful impact across UT MD Anderson for more than a decade. She has served in multiple clinical areas, including Gastrointestinal, Endocrine, Lymphoma/Myeloma and Thoracic Oncology, where she is recognized for building trusted relationships with patients and families during some of their most challenging moments. A charge nurse, preceptor and advocate for continuous improvement, Keller-Davis has led numerous initiatives to enhance patient experience, quality and safety, while contributing to nursing education through presentations, committee leadership and professional development programs. Her commitment to excellence, coupled with her belief that every interaction is an opportunity to ease a patient's burden and offer hope, embodies the very best of nursing at UT MD Anderson.
Drawing on more than three decades of service at UT MD Anderson, Ellen C. Mullen has exemplified excellence in oncology nursing through compassionate patient care, clinical leadership, education and scholarship. Since joining the institution in 1995, she has cared for patients across the cancer continuum, helping shape and expand survivorship services for lymphoma patients while advancing evidence-based practice through numerous publications, national presentations and collaborative research. A respected mentor and leader, Mullen has served on multiple institutional committees and has been recognized throughout her career for her exceptional contributions, including the Outstanding Nurse Award, Outstanding Service Award, Best of PPM Award, Top 1% Provider recognition and the Good Samaritan Foundation Excellence in Nursing Award. Inspired by her grandmother and mother, she has dedicated her career to improving the lives of patients and families, leaving a lasting impact on countless individuals from diagnosis through survivorship.
Additional finalists from the clinical nurse category were Hammam Ahmed, RN, CCRN, CRN, VA-BC, MSN, Vascular Access and Procedures; and Kim T. Brown, RN, OCN, Vascular Access and Procedures. Finalists from the APRN category were Swapna Jacob Binoy, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-C, MSN, Lymphoma; and Alice Saji, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.
“Our nurses are at the heart of the patient experience, and investing in their success is essential to delivering exceptional cancer care,” said Rosanna Morris, RN, executive vice president and chief clinical operations officer at UT MD Anderson. “As a fellow nurse, I am incredibly proud of their dedication, resilience and the extraordinary difference they make in the lives of our patients and caregivers.”
Honoring a tradition of philanthropy
Since 1982, The Brown Foundation has partnered with UT MD Anderson to support this prestigious award, which celebrates nurses who provide exceptional patient care while demonstrating extraordinary leadership and dedication to improving the lives of patients and families facing cancer. Now marking its 45th anniversary, The Brown Foundation Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing continues to recognize the vital contributions of nurses whose skill and commitment help advance the future of cancer care.
“The Brown Foundation has proudly supported UT MD Anderson for 45 years because of the institution’s unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care, research and education,” said Nancy O’Connor Abendshein, president of The Brown Foundation Board of Trustees. “UT MD Anderson’s nursing community represents the very best of the profession. Their compassion, empathy and clinical expertise make a profound difference for patients and families as they navigate some of life’s most challenging moments.”