Title: President
Company: International Transplant Nurses Society
Location: Haddon Township, New Jersey, United States
Dr. Maria Reila Molina, president of the International Transplant Nurses Society, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Doctors for dedication, achievements, and leadership in health care.
With over two and a half decades of experience, Dr. Molina has built a successful career in nursing. She currently serves as the senior advanced practice provider in cardiovascular medicine at Penn Medicine, a role she has held since 2022. Additionally, she has worked as a heart failure and transplant nurse practitioner at the same institution since 2009. Her experience includes serving as a heart and lung transplant nurse practitioner at Penn Medicine from 2016 to 2018. She was also a representative for Penn Transplant Nursing at the Institute of Nursing Science, University of Basel, Switzerland and Belgium, from 2013 to 2017. Prior to that, she worked as a critical care registered nurse in the intensive care unit and CCU, as well as a case manager, at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, from 1999 to 2009.
Dr. Molina has also served as a council member for the Alliance Innovation and Leadership Council at the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance since 2022 and has been an international speaker at the ICN NP, APN Network Conference since 2012. In 2023, she became president of the International Transplant Nurses Society and will serve as a subject matter expert for the American College of Cardiology Foundation starting in 2024. Her volunteer work includes health clinic services for Victory Church and the American Heart Association since 2019, and she has been a research collaborator with the European Society of Cardiology since 2018 and a clinical associate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education since 2014. She also coordinates the Continuing Nursing Education Program at Penn Medicine and serves as project manager for the Heart Transplant Database, both roles she has held since 2013, and has been a clinical nurse practitioner preceptor at Penn Nursing since 2012. Additionally, she was a board member of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation and served on the Program Planning and Education Committees for the United Network for Organ Sharing from 2016 to 2020.
In light of her impressive undertakings, Dr. Molina was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 2022, the Inaugural Research and Scholarship Award, and the Best Clinical Practice Award from the Advanced Practice Providers at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, along with the Philippines Academic and Professional Leadership Award from Canossa College, San Pablo City Alumni Association. She was also recognized as the Most Published Advanced Practice Provider at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in both 2018 and 2016, won the Best Research Abstract Award from the International Transplant Nurses Society in 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015, and received the Transplant Nursing Excellence Award in 2015. Additionally, she was honored with the State Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2016.
Dr. Molina laid a strong educational foundation, earning a Master of Science in Nursing from Rutgers Newark in 2009, followed by a Post Master of Science in Nursing Education from the University of Pennsylvania and another Master of Science in Nursing in adult gerontology acute care from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, both in 2013. In 2019, she completed a Certificate in Leadership and Management, Strategy, and Innovation from Wharton Online. Currently, she is pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice in genome sciences and a Doctor of Science in genomics, both from Rutgers. She also holds certifications in European Implementation Science, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Level II, and board certification as an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner. Additional certifications include human subjects training and a CCRN certification from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. She attributes her success to being passionate about educating people and providers. Looking to the future, she wants to focus more on being a cardiogenomics expert and sharing her knowledge with other professionals in the field. Additionally, she would like to have her own company where she could teach genomics.
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