I am a board-certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology, Oncology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. I created the first Palliative Care service at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2001. Dr. Abrahm has over 130 publications, most in the area of palliative care. The 4th edition of her book, “Comprehensive Guide to Supportive and Palliative Care for Cancer Patients”, was published in 2022 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
In 2022, I received the AAHPM Award for Excellence in Education and Training. I am part of the ASCO international palliative care faculty and mentorship group, with three active international mentees at present, from Indonesia, Australia, and Tanzania. In 2024, I was named the recipient of the ASCO Walther Cancer Foundation Supportive Oncology Award.
Since 2008, I have been part of a research team now focused on developing an electronic, rule-based clinical decision support system (CDS) for symptoms that leverages national clinical practice guidelines to improve the evaluation and management of symptoms during and following cancer treatment. I write the algorithms enabling the CDS to create the tailored, patient-specific recommendations for oncology clinicians, which include exact specifications for nonpharmacologic therapies (e.g. amount of exercise) as well as which drugs and what doses should be used.