Palliative Care Research Program
Palliative care is a relatively new field in health care that attends to the needs of seriously ill patients and their caregivers.
In addition to a growing cadre of clinicians who provide palliative care, there is a growing community of scientists who are helping to understand the experience of patients with serious illness and the impact of serious illness care upon caregivers, as well as improving the evidence base for palliative medicine.
About Us
The Palliative Care Research Program is a multidisciplinary group of clinician scientists from Michigan Medicine committed to collaborating with one another to understand the experience of patients with serious illness and the impact of serious illness care upon caregivers, as well as improving the evidence base for palliative medicine. We “hail” from various departments across the U-M Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy.
What We Do
We conduct qualitative, quantitative, and interventional research with patients, caregivers, and providers. Topics include: symptoms, caregiver burden, appropriate and safe use of medications, physician knowledge, and pain mechanisms.
Our History
Our interdisciplinary team has been at the forefront of palliative care research. We were established in 2014 by the Adult Palliative Care Executive Steering Committee headed by Drs. John Carethers and Phil Zazove as a way to foster cross-discipline collaboration and synergy around research relevant to patients with serious illness, their caregivers, and their clinicians.
Our Affiliations
We have strong ties to other research programs across the U-M campus including:
Contact Us
F7896
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Our Team
Maria J Silveira
Adult Hospice and Palliative Medicine Research Co-Director
Medical School
April Bigelow, PhD
Primary Care Adult Gerontology and Family Nurse Practitioner Program Lead
Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences
Lauren B Gerlach, DO, MS
Medical School
Victoria D Powell, MD, FACP
Medical School
Michael Smith, PharmD
Pasithorn Amy Suwanabol, MD, MS, FACS, FASCRS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Medical School
Make a Gift
To make a gift, visit the Adult Palliative Care Research Fund online giving page. Your gift will fund clinical research in palliative medicine to identify and improve upon interventions that support quality of life of patients and caregivers.
