Poorvu Jaffe Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Chief, Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
| 1981 | AB, Biology and Society, Cornell University |
| 1987 | MD, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago |
| 1987-1990 | Resident, Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) |
| 1990-1991 | Chief Medical Resident, Internal Medicine, UCSF |
| 1991-1993 | Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, Clinical epidemiology/bioethics, UCSF |
| 1993-1999 | Assistant Professor, Division of General Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC |
| 1999-2006 | Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC |
| 2002 | Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers |
| 2006-2015 | Professor of Medicine and Nursing, Duke University, Durham, NC |
| 2006 | Award for Research Excellence from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine |
| 2012-2015 | Chief, Duke Palliative Care, Duke University, NC |
| 2013 | George L. Engel Award from the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare |
| 2014 | American Cancer Society Pathfinder in Palliative Care award |
| 2015- | Chief, Division of Palliative Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital |
| 2015- | Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
| 2015- | Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School |
James A. Tulsky, MD, FAAHPM has a longstanding interest in doctor-patient communication and quality of life in serious illness, and has published widely in these areas. His current research focuses on the evaluation and enhancement of communication between oncologists and patients with advanced cancer; identification of clinical, psychosocial, and spiritual trajectories of patients at the end of life; development of self-management interventions for patients with life-limiting illness; and evaluating the role of palliative care in congestive heart failure.
He is a Founding Director of VitalTalk, a non-profit devoted to nurturing healthier connections between clinicians and patients through communication skills teaching.