We are so delightful to congratulate Dr. Shen on receiving the 2018 Kellen Junior Faculty Fellowship to sponsor her work on Advance care planning (ACP)! Dr. Shen will be awarded a one-time, non-renewable grant of $50,000 for her project, and we are excited to see more excellent results from her.
Want to know more about Dr. Shen's work? Advance care planning (ACP) is critical to the provision of quality end-of-life (EoL) care and has been associated with greater likelihood of patients’ EoL wishes being followed. Despite the importance of engaging in ACP, less than half of cancer patients engage in ACP and those with low health literacy are at greatest risk of not completing advance directives. Major limitations of prior work include not effectively improving knowledge of ACP and patients viewing ACP as irrelevant. The proposed studies aim to address these prior limitations by developing and pilot testing empirically grounded, novel, easy-to-understand, and engaging communication tools that apply the medium of animated videos to communicate ACP. Specifically, the proposed studies will develop and pilot-test four animated videos (description of ACP; importance of engaging in ACP now; importance of communicating ACP to loved ones, health care proxies, and providers; and how to communicate wishes and complete advance directives).
What is Kellen Junior Faculty Fellowship Program? Through a generous gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, the Kellen Junior Faculty Fellowship Program at Weill Cornell Medicine provides support to outstanding newly appointed (within 5 years) junior female faculty at the instructor or assistant professor levels. Kellen Fellowships are intended to provide support to junior female faculty thereby allowing them to establish a scientific track record leading to success in research and promotion to a higher rank. The goal will be to provide one-time, non-renewable grants of $50,000 to approximately 5 individuals who have at least 50% protected time for either basic or clinical research. The funds are to be used for research-related expenses. Awards will be made based on the candidate’s past record of achievement, the scientific merit of the submitted proposal, and future promise.