Claudia Virdun

Claudia Virdun is a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology. With over 24 years of nursing experience and 21 years specializing in palliative care, her work bridges clinical practice, academic research, and policy development.

• Doctor of Philosophy (University of Technology Sydney)
• Master of Advancing Professional Health Care Practice
• Honours Degree in Nursing

Her research focuses on optimizing palliative care in hospital settings, particularly through consumer co-design, quality indicators, and Indigenous cultural competence frameworks. Recent publications highlight trends in patient-reported experience measures, rural palliative care models, and genomic integration in end-of-life care.

• Developed the OPAL Project to enhance hospital palliative care
• Co-authored implementation toolkits for national palliative care services
• 2020 NEAP member for Palliative Care Australia

Scientific Awards include:

• Australian Award for University Teaching (2017)
• First Place International Palliative Care Network Poster (2019)
• Editor’s Choice (Palliative Medicine, 2015)

She has designed undergraduate and postgraduate nursing curricula, led indigenous cultural capability projects, and taught interdisciplinary palliative care. Her work involves collaborations with Palliative Care Australia, NSW Translational Cancer Research Network, and End of Life Essentials Project.