Areej El-Jawahri, M.D., is an early-career investigator conducting clinical research in patient and family engagement as a way to improve the experiences and outcomes of patient care.
As a member of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Outcomes Research Program, she conducts innovative research to improve the experience of patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.
In this installment of Beyond the Lab, Areej discusses what inspired her to focus on end-of-life care and how a strong mentor helped her achieve her own successes as a clinical researcher.
What inspired you to become a scientist/researcher?
During my undergraduate training, I witnessed firsthand the devastation of cancer after losing a close friend to an aggressive brain tumor. This marked my first exposure to the challenges of delivering high-quality end-of-life care in oncology. My friend died in the intensive care unit after a prolonged intubation surrounded by the utter shock of all of her loved ones, who simply did not see her death coming.
It was not until my first year in medical school, after meeting palliative care clinicians that I learned of the existence of a subspecialty in medicine fully dedicated to palliating symptoms and optimizing goals-of-care transitions at the end of life. My professional identity matured as I surrounded myself with palliative care clinicians, oncologists and researchers across the Harvard system, and my true passion rapidly became clear. I wanted to become an oncologist focused on integrating palliative care in the care of oncology patients.
With a strong desire to improve goals-of-care transitions in patients with advanced cancer, I quickly teamed with Drs. Angelo Volandes and Jennifer Temel. With their mentorship and guidance, I designed and led two research projects evaluating the efficacy of video decision support tools to enhance goals-of-care discussions in patients with advanced brain tumors and seriously ill hospitalized patients. As a fourth-year medical student, Dr. Temel became my primary research mentor and an inspirational role model for integrating palliative care in oncology.
During my residency training, I struggled with the extent of physical, psychological and spiritual suffering experienced by patients with hematologic malignancies and those undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Therefore, I decided to specialize in the care of patients with hematologic malignancies recognizing the need for palliative care researchers in this arena.
What problems in science are you most interested in solving?
My research is focused on designing and testing palliative and supportive care interventions to 1) improve patient and caregiver quality of life; 2) alleviate physical and psychological symptom burden; 3) enhance patient- and caregiver- centered decision-making; and 4) optimize the quality of end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer with special emphasis on patients with hematologic malignancies and their caregivers.
How do your colleagues help you achieve your goals?
I have been fortunate to have a truly inspirational mentor in Dr. Jennifer Temel. She is an absolute role model in humanism, compassion, work ethic, academic success and professionalism. Dr. Temel constantly models these behaviors for the next generation of oncology fellows and young faculty. She developed an international reputation as a leading researcher in palliative and supportive care, and has constantly modeled the necessary steps to become a successful clinical researcher for me.
I have also been incredibly fortunate in developing a multidisciplinary network of collaborations with other oncologists, palliative care clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists and nurses who help me think outside of the box and provide me with a rich perspective on how to address the most important problems facing our patients and their families.
What gets you going every day (besides coffee) and how do you stay motivated?
My research work has always been grounded by my clinical experience witnessing the challenges and struggles of my patients and their caregivers. Enhancing the quality of life and care for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers is truly what keeps me motivated each and every day. I am constantly learning from my patients and their families about the issues that are especially important to them. Developing patient- and caregiver- centered innovative interventions to address these issues and challenges are one of the most gratifying aspects of my personal and professional life.
What are your greatest limitations/challenges as a scientist/researcher?
With the current funding environment, there are many innovative projects targeting the needs of patients and families that never get the adequate support to ensure their success. This is the challenge facing every scientist and researcher in oncology.
Additionally, patient-centered palliative and supportive care research typically receives less attention and support compared to other research areas in medicine focused on understanding disease biology or developing specific therapies to prolong life. However, palliative and supportive care research is important to patients and families and has the potential to enhance their experience while living with life threatening illnesses. I am honored to focus my career on this aspect of the patients’ and families’ experience with illness.
At Massachusetts General Hospital, Areej has developed a Bone Marrow Transplant Survivorship program, helping survivors live with, through and beyond cancer. Learn more about this program here, and follow her on Twitter here.
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