Kimberly S. Johnson, MD, MHS

Dr. Kimberly S. Johnson, MD, MHS is a Professor with Tenure in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Duke Palliative Care, and Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Her research focuses on understanding and eliminating racial disparities in palliative and end-of-life care for seriously ill African Americans. She has led large national studies of hospice providers and multi-site studies to improve palliative care delivery.  Dr. Johnson has published widely and is nationally recognized for her work investigating how cultural beliefs and preferences and organizational practices and policies may influence the use of hospice care by older African Americans.   She is the Director of the Duke Center for Research to Advance Health Care Equity (REACH Equity), one of the NIMHDs Specialized Research Centers of Excellence on Minority Health and Health Disparities.  The Center focuses on developing and testing interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health by improving the quality of patient-centered care in the clinical encounter. In addition to her program of research, Dr. Johnson has substantial experience leading research training programs for early-stage investigators as the Co-director of the Duke CTSA KL2 Program and the Research Education Core of the Duke Pepper Center.