Vicki A. Jackson, MD, MPH, FAAHPM

Vicki A. Jackson, MD, MPH, FAAHPM

Blum Family Endowed Chair in Palliative Care 

Chief, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Educational and professional experience
1990 BS, Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
1995 MD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
1995-1998 Medical Resident, The Cambridge Hospital (TCH), Cambridge, MA
1998-1999 Chief Resident in Medicine, TCH
1999-2001 Research Fellow, Harvard General Medicine
2001 MPH Harvard School of Public Health-Concentration in Clinical Effectiveness
2001-2002 Pain and Palliative Care, Clinical Fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital
2002-2004 Research Fellow, Program in Cancer Outcomes Research Training
2004-2006 Director, Palliative Care Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
2006-2010 Director, Harvard Palliative Medicine Fellowship
2009-2010 Acting Chief, Palliative Care Service, MGH
2010- Chief, Palliative Service, MGH
2015- Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
2016- Chief, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics, MGH
Current teaching and research interests

Since completing her clinical training in Internal Medicine at The Cambridge Hospital, Palliative Care at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Hospital, as well as her research training through the Harvard Medical School General Medicine Fellowship and the Harvard University School of Public Health, Vicki A. Jackson, MD, MPH, has focused her effort as a clinician, educator, and leader in palliative medicine locally and nationally.

In the clinical arena, she spearheaded the development of a novel outpatient palliative care clinic in the MGH Cancer Center and is the palliative care lead for an NIH study to further evaluate the benefits of this delivery model.

As an educator, Dr. Jackson received extensive training in medical education through several fellowships. Her educational work has focused on the development and evaluation of communication curricula for palliative care fellows and attending physicians caring for seriously ill patients. Along with Dr. David Ryan, Chief of Oncology at MGH, she published a book for patients living with cancer in 2017 by Johns Hopkins University Press.

In her role as Chief of Palliative Care for Massachusetts General Hospital, she oversees all clinical, educational, and research initiatives related to Palliative Care.

She has a great husband, Philip Knapp, who is an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center. His favorite gland is the adrenal. They also have two terrific children, Hannah and Sam, and a fluffy, lovable golden retriever, Doris, who also happens to be the MGH palliative care dog. Dr. Jackson is also a Midwesterner and a Green Bay Packer fan.