Tara A. Albrecht, PhD, ACNP-BC, ACHPN, RN, is a nurse practitioner, nurse scientist and the Specialty Director of Palliative Care at Duke University School of Nursing. Her program of research is focused on ameliorating symptoms and distress with the goal of improving to patient-reported health outcomes in adults with cancer and specifically those with hematologic malignancies. Her research also explores how the diagnosis of a cancer impacts the family. She works with an interdisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians with the shared goal of advancing symptom science to improve outcomes for adults living with cancer and their families. Vanessa Battista, DNP, MBA, CPNP-PC, CHPPN, FPCN, FAAN, is a board-certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) and currently serves as Senior Nursing Director of Palliative Care at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is responsible for clinical operations and practice of the inpatient and outpatient adult and pediatric palliative care nursing team. Dr. Battista also works with an interprofessional leadership team to ensure the delivery of high-quality palliative care throughout the Institute with a focus on nursing education.She lectures and teaches at the local, national, and international level, and is a member of the ELNEC pediatric faculty. Heather Coats, PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN, FPCN, is a palliative care nurse practitioner who many roles, including researcher, administrator, clinician, and educator. Currently, she is the Director of Research for Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) and an associate professor at the University of Colorado, College of Nursing, Anschutz Medical Campus, in Aurora, CO. With a well-founded based of palliative, oncology, and hospice care spanning over 28 years, her program of research investigates the use of person-centered narrative interventions to improve communication between patients, their identified care partners, and the clinicians who care for them. For this program of research, she has been funded by NIH and the Cambia Health Foundation. She was the 2021 HPNA Vanguard recipient, is a Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and represents the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association on the NASEM Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness. Abraham A. Brody, PhD, RN, FAAN, FPCN, is a palliative and geriatric nurse practitioner who has worked across settings to improve the quality of care and quality of life for seriously ill individuals. His research and implementation work centers on the intersection of geriatrics, palliative care, quality, and equity. This includes the development of interventions tailored for diverse and underserved older adults with serious illness and their caregivers that can be implemented in real-world conditions are tested for effectiveness in large multi-site clinical trials. His work leverages emerging technologies, including precision health and machine learning, to support the interdisciplinary healthcare workforce. His work has led to the development of the Aliviado Health Program, which seeks to help care delivery organizations provide evidence-based geriatric palliative care to persons living with dementia and their caregivers, which has been disseminated throughout dozens of hospices, home care agencies, nurse-led telephonic care programs, case management, and other settings, impacting care of over 50,000 individuals.
