Nancy Hodgson, PhD is the Anthony Buividas Endowed Term Chair in Gerontology and associate professor in the biobehavioral health sciences department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Her 30 plus year nursing career has been dedicated to improving the end of life experiences for cognitively and physically frail older adults.

Hodgson’s program of research emphasizes the examination of factors associated with quality of life in chronically ill older adults and the enhancement of science-based nursing practice with older adults at end of life. This work has helped to inform care practices for persons living with dementia and their care partners through the development of palliative care protocols that address the leading symptoms in dementia that cause distress or impair quality of life.