The GW Nursing Office of Research sat down with Dale Lupu, Ph.D., M.P.H., a Research Professor at the GW School of Nursing, to learn more about her and her work at GW.
Hometown
I was born in Chicago, IL, but moved to Tucson, AZ when I was in grade school. Arizona, the Sonoran desert and mountains, are where my heart is.
Educational Background
- Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management (Gerontology Program) from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
- M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
- B.A. in Psychology from Harvard-Radcliffe College
How I Got Interested In Research
Both my parents were researchers. My mother was a supervisor for interviewers at National Opinion Research Corporation, which fielded national surveys on varied subjects. I remember market testing for early frozen "TV dinners” in the 1950s. I remember her training interviewers in our living room and me putting my dolls around a doll table and teaching them to probe. “Say 'what else?' not 'anything else?'” I also remember her work in Pittsburgh to increase pap smear screening rates in the neighborhoods where women were poor. She arranged for the project to distribute grocery store trading stamps! My father was a clinical chemist who was early in the standardization of laboratory testing in hospitals. He then left clinical chemistry and ran his own social and market research firm. I spent a number of summer vacations during high school as an interviewer or coding data from interviews. Beyond techniques of survey and social research, the main thing I learned form my parents was that asking questions is a powerful skill.
Current Work
Integrating palliative care into kidney care. Currently, I have a PCORI-funded 5-year clinical trial of shared-decision making for older patients making decisions about treatment options for kidney failure. We hope to increase the proportion of older patients who choose active medical care without dialysis if it aligns with their values and goals.
Fun Facts
Our dog, Simcha, a White Swiss Shepherd, likes to sing along when my husband plays clarinet or saxophone - but not when I play keyboard or viola. I love to kayak (flatwater, not whitewater) and frequently kayak with Simcha on the Anacostia. I also love gardening, quilting, and baking bread.