Meet Our Team
Anthony Back, MD,
Project Director, is an Associate Professor in the University of Washington Department of Medicine. Dr. Back is a Principal
Investigator (PI) on the Palliative Care
Initiative for Cancer grant through the Veterans Administration Clinical
Initiative. He has designed and
implemented end-of-life care education for the UW Internal Medicine Residency
program, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foubdation national course on communication in end-of-life
care. Dr. Back is a trainer for
RWJF-sponsored Education for Physicians
on End-of-life (EPEC) program, as well as a Faculty Scholar for the Project on Death in America. He is a member of the editorial board for
the Journal of Palliative Care, RWJF’s Last Acts Diversity Resource Committee, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Palliative
Care Task Force. He co-chairs the RWJF
HIV/AIDS Palliative Care Workgroup.
Frances Petracca,
PhD., Project Manager and Curriculum Specialist, is an educational psychologist with experience in direct client service, consultation, and program evaluation. Prior to joining the Center for Palliative
Care Education, she co-directed the evaluation of the Washington State HIV
Treatment Adherence Demonstration project, which provided services aimed at
increasing adherence to HAART medications.
We want to acknowledge the contributions of:
Liz Stevens, MSW,
former Project Manager, is currently working in India with the International Training and Education Center on HIV, developing training programs and materials for health practitioners in that country.
J. Randall Curtis,
MD, former Project Co-Director, is an Associate Professor in the UW Department of Medicine. He studies family-clinician communication about end-of-life care, and he is the editor of a recent book, Managing Death in the ICU, published by Oxford University Press. Dr. Curtis is
a Faculty Scholar for the Project on Death in America, a member of the RWJF International ICU End-of-Life Workgroup, and a member of the RWJF HIV/AIDS Palliative Care Workgroup.
