Dr. Hanson is a Professor in Geriatric Medicine, and Medical Director of the Palliative Care Program. Dr. Hanson graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1986, and received an MPH degree in Epidemiology from the UNC School of Public Health. She trained in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and completed her fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Hanson is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Medicine. She has clinical expertise in the care of medically complex older patients and in palliative care for adult patients of all ages.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Hanson also leads a program of research to measure and improve quality of health care for older patients made vulnerable by serious illness, with a particular focus on palliative care clinical trials. She currently leads the first multi-site clinical trial testing a specialty palliative care intervention for people with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. Dr. Hanson has expertise in the measurement of outcomes for serious illness populations. She currently leads the Measurement Core of the ASCENT Consortium, the nation’s first NIA funded consortium to support expansion of palliative care research, and leads the Patient and Caregiver Relevant Outcomes Core for the IMPACT Collaboratory.
