November 14, 2011
Thomas Smith named director of palliative care for Johns Hopkins Medicine
Thomas Smith has been named director of palliative care for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the inaugural Harry J. Duffey Family Professor of Palliative Care in the School of Medicine’s Department of Oncology. In this new directorship, he will lead palliative care efforts throughout the system.
“Tom has a national and international reputation as one of the foremost leaders in the field of palliative care,” said Edward D. Miller, the Frances Watt Baker, M.D., and Lenox D. Baker Jr., M.D., Dean of the Medical Faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, in making the announcement. Noting that Smith is board certified in oncology and pain/palliative medicine, he said that his research focuses on neuropathic pain, care at the end of life and bending the cost curve in patients with life-limiting conditions. “An accomplished teacher and researcher, as well as a breast cancer clinician, Tom also serves as a spokesperson for the Center to Advance Palliative Care and the American Society of Clinical Oncology,” he added.
Before joining Johns Hopkins, Smith served as co-director of the Massey Cancer Center Cancer Control and Prevention Program at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. He also held the positions of Endowed Professor of Palliative Care Research and the Esteemed Professor of Medicine for Oncology.
After receiving his bachelor of science degree summa cum laude from the University of Akron and his medical degree cum laude from Yale University School of Medicine, Smith did his residency in internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He then completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University and a special fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute.
“Tom’s broad range of expertise in systems issues related to patients across the medical spectrum in need of palliative care, and his outstanding research and clinical care in the oncology setting, will set apart our institution’s palliative care program,” Miller said.