Marie A Flannery

Marie A Flannery is an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing, University of Rochester, where she also serves as the Director of the PhD Program in Nursing & Health Science. She is a key member of the Geriatric Oncology Research Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center and has been instrumental in advancing cancer control research for older adults.

• PhD in Nursing, University of Rochester, 2003
• Post-Masters in Adult Nurse Practitioner, University of Rochester, 1992
• Masters in Oncology Nursing, University of Rochester, 1986
• BS in Nursing, University at Albany, 1979
• Certificate in Oncology Nursing, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, 1978

Her research is centered on improving the lives of older adults with advanced cancer, focusing on patient-reported outcomes such as symptoms and decision regret. She aims to enhance symptom management through better communication between patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Her work emphasizes the development of interventions to reduce symptom burden and improve quality of life. She is particularly interested in innovative methods for symptom reporting and the integration of geriatric assessments into oncology care.

Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on symptom clusters, treatment tolerability, caregiver-oncologist communication, and the use of digital tools and machine learning in symptom science. Her work consistently appears in high-impact journals such as JAMA Network Open, The Lancet, and Journal of Geriatric Oncology, highlighting her leadership in geriatric oncology and patient-centered research.

• Cynthia N Rittenberg Award in Excellence, Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer, 2022
• Merit Award, Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO, 2015
• Promising New Investigator, University of Rochester School of Nursing, 2017
• Outstanding Oncology Nurse of the Year, March of Dimes, 2014

Dr. Flannery has been a Co-Investigator on multiple NIH/NCI-funded grants, including projects on optimizing functional outcomes in older survivors, implementing palliative care via learning collaboratives, and understanding treatment tolerability in older cancer patients. She brings extensive clinical experience as a former Senior Nurse Practitioner at the Wilmot Cancer Center, where she cared for patients with advanced cancer for nearly 25 years. She mentors students and leads educational components in clinical research interventions.

She is actively involved in the Geriatric Oncology Research Program and contributes to multi-site, interdisciplinary research teams focused on improving cancer care delivery for older adults. Her work bridges clinical practice, research, and education, ensuring that findings are translated into real-world improvements in patient care.