Marguerite M. Engler

Marguerite Maryanne Engler (1956 – March 9, 2023) was an American nurse scientist and physiologist who was a professor in the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She was previously the acting scientific director of the National Institute of Nursing Research's division of intramural research in 2012.

Early life and education Engler was born in 1956 in Washington, D.C. to Dorothy Jeane Engler (née Johnston) and Frank Robert Engler, a colonel in the U.S. military. She earned an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Nursing from Marymount University in 1975. Engler pursued a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in biology at the American University College of Arts and Sciences (AU), from 1975 to 1978.

Engler completed her Ph.D. in physiology at Georgetown University School of Medicine's department of physiology and biophysics between 1982 and 1988. Her doctoral research found that feeding rats certain healthy fats, especially gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), helped protect against changes in blood vessels and platelets caused by alcohol, by increasing important fatty acids and improving the production of substances that help regulate blood flow.

In 2011, Engler joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), Division of Intramural Research. She was recognized for her leadership in the management of clinical research at the NIH and earned a Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) for her contributions to nursing science. Engler was a professor in the Graduate School of Nursing at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She taught in its Ph.D. in nursing science program.

Engler died on March 9, 2023, at the age of 67.