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Biography
Dr. Kathleen Oare Lindell, PhD, RN, ATSF, FAAN is an Associate Professor and the Mary Swain Endowed Chair in Palliative Care Health in the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing with a joint appointment in the College of Medicine. She is a graduate of the St. Francis General Hospital Professional School of Nursing (Diploma RN), and the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing [BSN, MSN (Pulmonary Specialty), and PhD].
Dr. Lindell worked at the PENN Lung Center as a Pulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist (PCNS) where she participated in development of evidence-based programs to advance the respiratory health of patients with lung disease ultimately impacting their ability to breathe. In 2000, she became the PCNS at the inaugural University of Pittsburgh Dorothy P. & Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease at UPMC where she led the patient education and support group for patients and their caregivers focused on improving their quality of life. After obtaining her PhD, she became the Executive Director of the SUPPORT program, received NIH, foundation, and intramural funding, and continued her research focus toward promoting palliative care knowledge and preparedness to improve the quality of life for patients with advanced lung disease, specifically Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and their family caregivers. As a result of her work, she developed a nurse-led palliative care intervention entitled “A Program of SUPPORT™” for patients with IPF and their caregivers and has advanced this to other advanced lung diseases, including progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) and advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This work resulted in 70 peer-reviewed publications and a book entitled Palliative Care in Lung Disease in 2021. Dr. Lindell is actively involved in the American Thoracic Society and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF), having served on both of their Board of Directors. At present, she is a member of the PFF Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee and the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre - Scientific Advisory Committee.
Her role as the Mary Swain Endowed Chair in Palliative Care Health is to advance and promote awareness of palliative care among healthcare professionals, students, patients and their caregivers, and the public, ultimately to improve quality of life for patients and families affected with serious illness.