Deeply engaged in medical research at a time when that was uncommon for women, Irene H. Lamb earned a reputation for her drive, passion and willingness to meet challenges head-on. One of her proudest achievements was helping to set up the first coronary care center in the United States; now, there are hundreds of such centers across the country. Ms. Lamb was also proud of her contributions to a variety of professional journals and books.
Ms. Lamb initially began her career as a charge nurse, head nurse in acute medicine, medical and surgical ICU nurse, and an emergency room nurse in various medical centers from 1963 to 1967. She became a staff nurse in critical care research at the University of Southern California/Los Angeles County Medical Center in 1968 and continued on as a nurse manager there from 1969 to 1974. Ms. Lamb proceeded to serve in the positions of senior research nurse in cardiology at Stanford School of Medicine from 1974 to 1985, research coordinator of a private clinic in 1988, director of clinical research at San Diego Cardiac Center from 1989 to 1992 and senior community health nurse at Madison County Health Department in Berea, Kentucky, from 1993 to 1997.
Further, Ms. Lamb lent her expertise to roles as a senior clinical research manager of the stroke program at the Madison County Health Department from 1993 to 1997 and senior clinical research manager of the stroke center at the University Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington from 1997 to 2002. The University Kentucky Stroke Center is recognized as the leading center for the management of stroke, a cause close that has become very important to her. As such, Ms. Lamb was active on the board of directors of the Kentucky Stroke Association from 1998 to 2000. Her final post before her retirement in 2014 was community health quality insurance and clinical pathway developer for the Madison County Health Department in Richmond, Kentucky.
To prepare for her career, Ms. Lamb studied at California State University, Los Angeles and at Berea College in Kentucky. She received a diploma in nursing from Baptist Hospital in Kentucky and is a registered certified nurse in the state. In recognition of her achievements, Ms. Lamb received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and has been featured in numerous issues of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Nursing, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, and Who’s Who in the World. Her hobbies include spinning wool into yarn and hand weaving.