Sharon E. Lock, PhD, APRN, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN

Dr. Lock earned BSN and MSN degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a PhD in Nursing Science from the University of South Carolina. She also earned a post-master's certificate as a primary care nurse practitioner from the University of Virginia. She is certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Before coming to UK, Dr. Lock taught maternity nursing at East Carolina University and the University of Virginia. She served as the coordinator of the primary care nurse practitioner track for more than fifteen years. In 2010, she received the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award from the College of Nursing.

Dr. Lock's research interests include teen pregnancy prevention and sexual risk reduction among adolescents. She has received NIH funding to study communication between sexual partners. She serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Adolescent Health and the Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing. She served as secretary of the Southern Nursing Research Society from 2000-2002.

In 2006, as a member of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, she served on the National Panel for Nurse Practitioner Practice Doctorate Competencies. Dr. Lock is a member of the advisory board for the Kentucky Area Health Education Centers. She consulted with the University of Kentucky’s Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute to develop a women’s health interactive module for health care professionals, which is now offered nationally through the Public Health Foundation’s TRAIN web site.

At the University of Kentucky, Dr. Lock provided leadership for the first Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the country and has taught in the program since it began in 2001. She was recently awarded a $1.7 million HRSA grant to enhance the role of the primary care registered nurse in rural Kentucky. Dr. Lock is a fellow in the National Academies of Practice and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.