Barbara Jones, Ph.D., was awarded the American Cancer Society 2022 Pathfinder in Palliative Care Award at the 15th Annual Kathleen Foley Palliative Care Retreat and Research Symposium in San Diego, California. This annual society award recognizes outstanding and pioneering achievements of professionals who have demonstrated remarkable innovation and ingenuity in contributing to the advancement of the field of palliative care nationally and/or globally.
“I am so honored to receive the American Cancer Society’s 2022 Pathfinder Award,” stated Dr. Jones. “As the first social worker to receive this award, it is particularly meaningful because it demonstrates the value ACS places on the importance of the interprofessional team in palliative care and research. I also deeply appreciate the recognition of pediatric, adolescent and young adult palliative care as a unique area of research and practice.”
Dr. Jones has been a nationally and internationally recognized leader in palliative care for over 20 years, with a specific focus on children, adolescents, and young adults. She has written more than 120 publications in leading journals; has given more than 250 presentations; and has co-edited three books about palliative care. She has mentored dozens of interprofessional palliative care scholars around the country in medicine, social work, psychology, communications, nursing, and pharmacy.
In addition to the Pathfinder Award, Dr. Jones received the Social Worker of the Year Award from the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Work in 2013 and the Project on Death in America Social Work Scholar Award in 2002. She has also served as a Master Facilitator for EPEC Pediatrics program since 2011, training hundreds of providers in pediatric palliative care across the country and globally. She serves on the Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Scholars National Advisory Board and was appointed in 2018 as the first social work member of the board.
Dr. Jones currently serves as the Distinguished Professor, Lockhart Professor and Associate Dean for Health Affairs at UT Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She is also Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Social Work and Chair of the Department of Health Social Work at UT Austin Dell Medical School, the first department of its kind in the nation.