Upon completing her formal education, Curley joined the faculty at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. As an
associate professor received a five-year $10M Research Project Grant Program from the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a multi-site clinical trial, "Sedation Management in Pediatric Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure Study." In 2010, Curley was honored with the Barbara J. Lowery D.S.O. Faculty Award for advancing nursing science through exemplary student mentorship. As a result of her research, Curley was inducted into the 2014 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. In 2016, Curley was elected a member of the
National Academy of Medicine as someone who "demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service." Two years later, he was appointed the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing at
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Curley was awarded SCCM's 2021 Drs. Vidyasagar and Nagamani Dharmapuri Award for Excellence in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine as an individual who displayed "sustained exemplary and pioneering achievement in the care of critically ill and injured infants and children." ==References==