Yael Schenker

Yael Schenker, MD, MAS, FAAHPM is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She serves as Director of the Palliative Research Center (PaRC), Associate Director for Education and Training at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and Associate Chief of Research in the Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics. Her work focuses on improving palliative care for patients with advanced cancer through symptom management, advance care planning, and addressing opioid policies.

Education:

• AB, Harvard University (1995)
• MD, University of California, San Francisco (2004)
• MAS in Clinical Research, University of California, San Francisco (2010)

Research Interests span palliative care delivery, healthcare advertising, surrogate decision-making, informed consent, language barriers, cross-cultural communication, and AI applications in end-of-life care. Her recent work explores telehealth equity, opioid stigma, and AI-driven goals-of-care documentation.

Scientific Awards

• Early Career Investigator Award, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2016)
• Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year, Society of General Internal Medicine (2017)
• Best Geriatric Abstract, Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting (2018)
• Fellow, Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) (2022-2023)

Grants include NIH-funded projects like Patient-Centered and Efficacious Advance Care Planning in Cancer (R01 CA235730) and CONNECT Cluster Randomized Trial (R01 CA197103). She also co-investigates NCATS-funded Team Science initiatives.