Krista Harrison, PhD
Associate Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

Krista Harrison, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (IHPS). Her research aims to mitigate suffering by improving models of care & policies for older adults living with, dying from, and grieving neurodegenerative diseases and other serious illnesses.

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She uses quantitative data to examine population-level needs and generate qualitative and mixed-methods data to inform the development of policy recommendations or gerineuropalliative interventions for community-dwelling people with dementia and care partners.

Dr. Harrison completed her PhD in health policy and bioethics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; postdoctoral training in aging research and implementation science at UCSF, and an Atlantic Fellowship for Equity and Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute. Before joining UCSF, Dr. Harrison was an executive leader at a large nonprofit community-based hospice and palliative care organization. Dr. Harrison's currently serves as co-lead of the Vulnerable Aging Research Core of the Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center.

Awards

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  • Junior Faculty Visiting Professor Program in Geriatric Palliative Care, University of North Carolina, 2024
  • GeriPal Mentor of the Year, UCSF Geriatrics and Palliative Care Fellowship, 2021
  • UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies Emerging Scholar Exchange Program, University of Pennsylvania Leonard R. Davis Center, 2020
  • NIA Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01), National Institute on Aging, 2019-2024
  • 2019 UCSF MSTAR Research Mentor Award, UCSF Medical Students Training in Aging Research (MSTAR), 2019
  • CTSI KL2 Career Development Award, University of California San Francisco, 2018-2021
  • Pilot Awards for Global Brain Health Leaders, Alzheimer's Association/Global Brain Health Institute, 2018-2020
  • NPCRC Junior Faculty Career Development Award, National Palliative Care Research Center, 2018-2020
  • Hellman Fellows Program, University of California San Francisco, 2018-2020
  • UCSF Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) Research Scholar, University of California San Francisco, 2017-2019

Education & Training

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  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion Training University of California 05/2021
  • Atlantic Fellow Equity in Brain Health Global Brain Health Institute, UCSF 2019
  • T32 Fellowship Aging Research University of California 2017
  • Certificate Implementation Science University of California 2016
  • PhD Bioethics, Health Policy & Management Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath 2013
  • AHRQ NRSA Health Services Research Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2010
  • BA Biology, English Williams College 2004
  • Biology, English Oxford University 2002

Interests

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  • public health ethics
  • Geriatrics
  • implementation science
  • dementia
  • health policy ethics
  • advance care planning
  • home-based medical care
  • mixed-methods
  • disparities
  • qualitative methods
  • population health
  • organizational values
  • hospice and palliative care
  • advanced illness care

Websites

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Grants and Projects

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Publications (76)

Top publication keywords:
Homebound PersonsQualitative ResearchPalliative CareAdvance Care PlanningCaregiversHome Care ServicesDementiaTerminal CareHospice CareMultiple Chronic ConditionsHospicesMedicareResource AllocationGriefCreutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome

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