Dr. Emily Merrill is the director of nurse practitioner programs and an an associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Lubbock, Texas. Dr. Merrill earned the President's Excellence in Teaching Award at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2004 and the President's Distinguished Clinician's Award in 2003. She is the lead author of the study, "Women's stories of their experiences as patients who are overweight," published in the UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing. Dr. Merrill has lectured extensively on women's health and nursing issues.