Her work has been recognized with the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, Pennsylvania Nightingale Award for research, the Pathfinders Award for research by the Friends of the NINR, and induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Inaugural Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. She was recently the principal investigator of the NIH study, Adherence & HRQOL: Translation of Interventions NIH NINR P01NR010949, a program project grant funded by the National Institute for Nursing Research that addresses clinical research studies designed to improve quality of life and delay or slow the progression of chronic conditions through the examination of self-management strategies that target adherence to treatment regimen, thus improving the effectiveness of care, and factors necessary for translation of research into practice. Her past research includes director and principal investigator of the Center for Research in Chronic Disorders (NIH NINR P30-NR003924), and principal investigator for the grant Improving Medication Adherence in Comorbid Conditions (NIH NIDDK R01-DK59048), as well as a grant from the National Science Foundation designed to develop robotic assistance for the elderly, known as "Nursebot." [NSF IIS-0085796]. Dr. Dunbar-Jacob has had funding from seven of the Institutes in the NIH, and she has experience in the behavioral science aspects of clinical trial management including the Lipid Research Clinics Program, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, and the Women’s Health Initiative.