Research

Overview:

Our goal is to build the science and evidence for the efficacy and effectiveness of neuropalliative care. Our research programs focus on improving patient and family-centered care for those with serious neurological illness. Current research studies include clinical trials and implementation science projects to improve the delivery and receipt of neuropalliative care. Accordingly, our studies target healthcare professionals, and patients, and family carepartners of those with neurological illness.

The Division researchers have close associations with our colleagues in Neuro-Oncology and Neuromuscular Divisions and Department of Geriatrics. In addition, we have close associations with the Parkinson’s Foundation, the Davis Phinney Foundation, the Michael J. Fox Foundation as well the Family Caregiver Alliance and the Alzheimer’s Disease Association.

Current Research:

Current and ongoing research studies include:

Advancing Palliative Care for Older Adults Affected by Neurodegenerative Disease: Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. 
Funded by the National Institutes of Aging (NIH), this is a research program and career program focused on addressing barriers to meeting palliative care needs for those affected by neurodegenerative diseases. The planned research efforts are directed towards developing, implementing, and disseminating palliative care interventions to improve standard of care for older adults affected by neurodegenerative illnesses.

Implementing Team-based Outpatient Palliative Care in Parkinson Foundation Centers of Excellence. 
Funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (#DI-2019C2-17499), this project aims to make outpatient palliative care the new standard of care for Parkinson’s Disease. Since 2020, along with the Parkinson’s Foundation, we have been working with healthcare professionals at 33 academic and private clinics across the United States to provide education and coaching on using a palliative care approach to the care of those with Parkinson’s Disease.

More than a Movement Disorder: Applying Palliative Care to Parkinson’s Disease.
Funded by the National Institutes of Nursing Research (NINR-NIH), this project to build upon work by members of this research team to conduct a pragmatic clinical trial of a novel palliative care model for PD delivered through online communities for patients, caregivers and clinicians with the specific objectives of determining whether this community based intervention is effective to improve patient quality of life or caregiver distress and this approach is feasible to disseminate palliative services more widely to PD patients and their families in the communities in which they live.

Improving Care Partner Outcomes through Positive Connections.
Funded by the National Institutes of Aging (NIA-NIH) and supported by the URMC Roybal Center for Social Ties and Aging Research, this project uses the Life Enhancing Activities for Family Caregivers (LEAF) intervention and adapt it to a group setting by tying LEAF skills to social connections (Social-LEAF) in order to support family care partners in discovering positive emotions, self-efficacy, and meaning in caregiving and combat social isolation.

Developing a Prediction Model to Improve End-of-Life Prognostication and Hospice Referral in Parkinson’s Disease.
Funded by the National Institutes of Aging (NIA-NIH) is project is to use currently available data to create a predictive model that would improve clinicians’ ability to predict which patients with PD should be considered for hospice.

The Neuropalliative Care Research Lab 

The Neuropalliative Care Research Lab (NPCL)  comprises students, faculty members, and others interested in neuropalliative care. Led by Drs. Seshadri and Kluger (Chief, Division of Neuropalliative Care), NPCL provides opportunities to collaborate on research, develop research ideas, data collection and analyses, and dissemination of neuropalliative care research findings. All are welcome to join our lab.