2020

Julie W. Childers, MD, MS,FAAHPM, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2005 and completed residency training in internal medicine at the University of Rochester in 2008.  She completed fellowship training in palliative care in 2009 and obtained a master’s degree in medical education from the Clinician Educator Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010.  She currently serves as the medical director of the palliative care service at Presbyterian Hospital. As a Senior Associate with VitalTalk nationally and the director of the local Pittsburgh Academy of Communication Coaching, she regularly organizes both local and national communication

Rodney O. Tucker, MD MMM is a native Alabamian who graduated from medical school at UAB in 1989 and is now board certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  After a career in private practice, home care and hospice services, Dr. Tucker returned to his alma mater in 2002.  Since that time, he has been active at UAB in the development of a comprehensive clinical, educational and research program in palliative care, including the Southeast Institute for Innovation in Palliative and Supportive Care at UAB.  Serving currently as the Director of the UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive

Meaghann Weaver, MD, MPH, FAAP, currently serves as division chief, Pediatric Palliative Care at the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She graduated from Creighton University Summa Cum Laude with a major in theology and a co-major in African studies. Meaghann thought she would become a linguistic anthropologist but instead entered medicine, which she describes as “a form of humanistic anthropology as we gather narratives and help families make meaning even during times of illness”. After attending medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, she completed her pediatric residency in

Dr. Katharine Brock, MD, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, with her efforts primarily devoted to being a pediatric palliative oncologist. Dr. Brock earned her medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, followed by residency training in pediatrics at the University of Colorado, Pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Stanford University and Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. While at Stanford, she completed a Masters in epidemiology and clinical research as well as a fellowship in medical education. She is the Director of the Supportive Care

Claire Ankuda, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor in the department of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She conducts health services research to assess how payment policies, and in particular Medicare policy, impact outcomes for seriously ill older adults and their families. As a family medicine physician board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine, Dr. Ankuda’s clinical work focuses on relieving the suffering experienced by patients with serious illness.  Both her research and clinical work involve interdisciplinary teams who address the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of both patient