Researcher Spotlight: Dio Kavalieratos

What is your professional background?
I am a health services researcher, having completed a PhD in Health Policy and Management at UNC-Chapel Hill before a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. My focus is on health care, access, quality, and outcomes, primarily in the context of serious and life-limiting illness. Before arriving to Emory in March 2020, I was an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.

In what division do you work, and who is your mentor?
I am primarily in the Division of Palliative Medicine in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, with secondary affiliations in the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Department of Epidemiology. My mentor is Tammie Quest, MD.

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
Our team works to develop, test, and implement clinical strategies by which to identify and deliver services to people with serious illness who have unmet palliative needs. We do this through a variety of interrelated techniques, including qualitative and mixed-methods research, patient-reported outcomes assessments, EMR analyses, systematic review and meta-analysis, and randomized clinical trials. As a matter of equity, we focus our work on chronic, non-cancer illnesses (e.g., heart failure, cystic fibrosis), recognizing that the evidence base for palliative care originated in oncology and we therefore know much less about the role and efficacy of palliative care interventions in non-cancer illnesses.  

What do you like most about Emory?
Starting a new faculty position during a pandemic is strange, disorienting, and challenging; yet, I have felt such an incredible feeling of welcoming, support, and kindness from across the Emory community. 

What is your favorite movie or TV show?
My favorite TV shows are ‘Veep’ and ‘Insecure.’  

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy traveling internationally (thanks, COVID), hiking, baking (baklava and chocolate chip cookies are my specialties), spending time with my dog, and finding new coffee shops. 

What is a fun fact about you?
I can take on most anyone in a game of 90s/00s R&B music trivia.