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Dale Lupu

Dale Lupu headshot

Dale Lupu

Ph.D., M.P.H.

Research Professor

Contact:

Email: Dale Lupu
Office Phone: 202-994-0598
LinkedIn
1919 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 500, 532 Washington, D.C. 20006

Dr. Lupu is a national leader in hospice and palliative care who believes, “The end of the story matters.” For more than 40 years, she has dedicated herself to improving end-of-life care by creating innovative organizations, systems, educational programs, and research projects. 

Currently, she is focused on connecting palliative care with nephrology. Recent projects include the Pathways Project, which improves supportive care in kidney settings, and the HIGHWay initiative, which trained nephrology teams in communication skills for advance care planning. Her newest project, ExPAND, funded by PCORI, tests two approaches to supporting shared decision-making for people with kidney failure at 24 nephrology practice sites nationally. Dr. Lupu holds positions at the GW School of Nursing and adjunct positions at the GW School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2024 she was honored by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine with a Visionaries in Hospice and Palliative Care award.

  • Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Doctor of Philosophy (1996)
  • Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Master of Public Health (1988)
  • Harvard-Radcliffe College, Bachelor of Art (1978)
  • Ernecoff NC, Kurtz EC, Pearson EM, Grimes TH, Aldous A, Lupu DE, Schell JO. Advanced Care Planning in Chronic Kidney Disease: Qualitative Impact of the MY WAY Intervention. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Online June 4, 2024, doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.05.030
  • Holdsworth LM, Stedman M, Gustafsson ES, Han J, Asch SM, Harbert G, Lorenz KA, Lupu DE, Malcolm E, Moss AH, Nicklas A. “Diving in the deep-end and swimming”: a mixed methods study using normalization process theory to evaluate a learning collaborative approach for the implementation of palliative care practices in hemodialysis centers. BMC Health Services Research. 2023 Dec 11;23(1):1384.
  • Moss AH, Harbert G, Aldous A, Anderson E, Nicklas A, Lupu DE. Pathways Project Pragmatic Lessons Learned: Integrating Supportive Care Best Practices into Real-World Kidney Care. Kidney360. 2023 Dec 19:10-34067. DOI: 10.34067/KID.0000000000000277
  • Ernecoff NC, Robinson MT, Motter EM, Bursic AE, Lagnese K, Taylor R, Lupu D, Schell JO. Concurrent Hospice and Dialysis Care: Considerations for Implementation. Journal of General Internal Medicine. DOI link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08504-w. Published Online: 2023-11-14
  • Lupu DE, Sanchez MM, Gedney N. It Shouldn’t Be a Battle: Customizing Shared Decision Making to Meet Patients’ Preferences. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2023 Dec 1;82(6):650-2.
  • Gianattasio KZ, Power MC, Lupu D, Prather C, Moghtaderi A. Medicare Hospice Policy Changes and Beneficiaries' Rate of Live Discharge and Length-of-Stay. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Dec 13:S0885-3924(22)01009-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.12.001.
  • Kurella Tamura M, Holdsworth L, Stedman M, Aldous A, Asch SM, Han J, Harbert G, Lorenz KA, Malcolm E, Nicklas A, Moss AH, Lupu DE. Implementation and Effectiveness of a Learning Collaborative to Improve Palliative Care for Seriously Ill Hemodialysis Patients. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2022 Sep 14. pii: CJN.00090122. doi: 10.2215/CJN.00090122.
  • Rodriguez de Sosa, G., Nicklas, A., Thamer, M. Elizabeth Anderson,  Naveena Reddy,  JoAnn Stevelos,  Michael J. Germain,  Mark L. Unruh &  Dale E. Lupu. Implementing Advance Care Planning for dialysis patients: HIGHway project. BMC Palliat Care 21, 129 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01011-5. 16 July 2022
  • Lupu DE, Aldous A, Anderson E, et al. Advance Care Planning Coaching in CKD Clinics: A Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial. Am J Kidney Dis. 2021 Oct 12; online ahead of print. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2021.08.019
  • Lupu D, Moss AH. The role of kidney supportive care and active medical management without dialysis in supporting well-being in kidney care. In Cukor D, editor. Seminars in Nephrology. 2021 Nov; 41(6):580-591. doi: 10.1016/j.semnephrol.2021.10.010.
  • Lupu D, Aldous A, Harbert G, Kurella Tamura M, Holdsworth L, Nicklas A, Vinson B, Moss AH. Improving Kidney Supportive Care in Dialysis Centers. Kidney360 Nov 2020, 10.34067/KID.0005892020; DOI:
  • Schell JO, Lupu DE. A Step in the Right Direction: The Promise of PROMs in Routine Hemodialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2020 Sep 7;15(9):1228-1230. doi: 10.2215/CJN.12350720.
  • Diamond LH, Armistead NC, Lupu DE, Moss AH. Recommendations for Public Policy Changes to Improve Supportive Care for Seriously Ill Patients With Kidney Disease. Am J Kidney Dis. Published online December 2020:S0272638620311343. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2020.09.020
  • Anderson E, Charles NS, Lupu D. Barriers and Facilitators to Supportive Care for ESRD Dialysis Patients— A Social Worker’s Role. J Nephrol Soc Work. 2019;43(2):6.
  • Saeed F, Lupu D, Moss AH. The Donut or the Hole? Prioritizing Patient and Caregiver Values in the Delivery of High-Quality Medical Management Without Dialysis. Am J Kidney Dis. 2019;73(2):153-155. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2018.10.003
  • Moss AH, Lupu DE, Armistead NC, Diamond L, eds. Palliative Care in Nephrology. Oxford University Press; 2020.
  • Bickel KE, McNiff K, Buss MK, et al. Defining High-Quality Palliative Care in Oncology Practice: An American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Guidance Statement. J Oncol Pract. 2016;12(9):e828-e838. doi:10.1200/JOP.2016.010686.
  • Culp S, Lupu D, Arenella C, Armistead N, Moss A. Unmet Supportive Care Needs in United States Dialysis Centers and Lack of Knowledge of Available Resources to Address Them. Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management. December 17, 2015; doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.017
  • Moss, AH, Armistead, N., & Lupu, D. (2015). End-Stage Kidney Disease Without Dialysis. Health Affairs, 34(11). doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1225 
  • Dy SM, Kiley KB, Ast K, Lupu D, Norton SA, McMillan SC, Herr K, Rotella JD, Casarett DJ, (2015) Measuring What Matters: Top-Ranked Quality Indicators for Hospice and Palliative Care from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association.  J Pain Symptom Manage. 2015 Apr;49(4):773-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.01.012. Epub 2015 Feb 16.
  • Lupu, D. E., Ivanko, B., Insana, F., White, P. H., & Arnold, R. M. (2014). Hospice Innovation Impediments: Can Halfway Efforts Tame the Terrible Choice? Journal of Palliative Medicine, 17(10), 1088-1090. doi:10.1089/jpm.2014.0268
  • Kamal AH, Hanson LC, Casarett DJ, Dy SM, Pantilat SZ, Lupu D, Abernethy AP. (2015) The Quality Imperative for Palliative Care. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. ISSN: 1873-6513, 2015 Feb; Vol. 49 (2), pp. 243-53; PMID: 25057987 Epub: 2014 Jul 21, doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.06.008. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=25057987
  • Lupu D, Deneszczuk C, Leystra T, McKinnon R, Seng V. (2013) Few US Public Health Schools Offer Courses on Palliative and End-of-Life Care Policy. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2013 Dec;16 (12):1582-7. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2013.0161. Epub 2013 Nov 20. PMID: 24256202
  • Dy S, Lupu D, Seow H. (2012) Progress towards systems of quality measurement that capture the essence of good palliative care. Palliative Medicine. 2012 Jun;26(4):291-3
  • Lupu D, Gladstein R. (2012) Parashah Meditations. Kerem: Creative Explorations in Judaism. 2012 13:9-23
  • Visionary in Hospice & Palliative Care, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
  • Gerald H. Holman Distinguished Service Award — American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2008)
  • Principal Investigator: The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation has funded a three-year project (2016-2018) to conduct a trial of advance care planning for patients with chronic kidney disease. The project is now called MY WAY: Make Your Wishes About You. An initial phase of the project was the development and distribution of a patient guide about advance care planning specifically designed for patients with chronic kidney disease as well as a coach training curriculum. These are being widely distributed by the Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients (CSCKP), which is a national coalition of all of the major organizations involved in the care of patients with chronic kidney disease. 
  • Researcher: In collaboration with Ed Salsberg, have just completed a physician workforce study for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
  • Co-Principal Investigator: The Moore Foundation has funded the Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients (CSCKOP) to develop a set of change concepts and toolkit for the development of supportive care pathways for patients with chronic kidney disease. This is a 15-month project (2017-March 2018) that is laying the groundwork for a demonstration of supportive kidney care in the ESCO environment.
  • Ambulatory Care
  • Community Health
  • Diabetes Management
  • Maternal / Child Health
  • Quality Improvement
  • Women's Health
  • Health Policy
  • Hospice and Palliative Care
  • Implementation Science
  • Other