Research Overview

 Dr. Ullrich’s research interests include symptom management in children with life-threatening illness, with a particular focus on fatigue in children with cancer. She seeks to better understand fatigue in children with serious illness, with the ultimate aim of designing interventions to reduce suffering from this symptom. She is currently conducting a trial evaluating a pharmacologic intervention for children with cancer-related fatigue. As a member of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) Program, at Dana-Farber and Children’s Hospital Boston, Dr. Ullrich is also interested in integration of palliative care with HSCT to optimize comfort, communication, and quality of life for children undergoing HSCT. 

 

Research Background

Ullrich Dr. Ullrich received her MD from Harvard Medical School and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed her residency through the Boston Combined Residency Program (Children’s Hospital Boston and Boston Medical Center). Dr. Ullrich has completed fellowships in both pediatric hematology/oncology and pediatric palliative care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston. She is board certified in pediatrics, pediatric hematology/oncology and hospice and palliative medicine. 

Dr. Ullrich received a Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine for her work investigating cancer-related fatigue in children. Her work aiming to better understand and improve symptom distress and quality of life in children who undergo HSCT is currently funded by a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Education

Medical School

Harvard Medical School
2001 Boston MA

Internship

Medicine Boston Children's Hospital
2002 Boston MA

Residency

Pediatrics Boston Combined Residency Program (BCRP)
2004 Boston MA

Fellowship

Pediatric Hematology -Oncology Boston Children's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2006 Boston MA

Fellowship

Pediatric Palliative Care Boston Children's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2006 Boston MA

Fellowship

Health Services Research Boston Children's Hospital
2007 Boston MA

Publications

  1. Leading a Palliative Care Team Through Times of Growth And Change. J Palliat Med. 2024 Nov; 27(11):1439-1449. View Abstract
  2. Household material hardship and distress among parents of children with advanced cancer: A report from the PediQUEST Response trial. Cancer. 2024 Oct 15; 130(20):3540-3548. View Abstract
  3. What do patients think about palliative care? A national survey of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Blood Adv. 2023 05 23; 7(10):2032-2041. View Abstract
  4. Revisiting medical neglect concerns in children with life-threatening complex chronic conditions. Child Abuse Negl. 2023 07; 141:106220. View Abstract
  5. Concerns for Medical Neglect in Children with Complex or Serious Medical Conditions: What Pediatric Palliative Care Brings to the Table. J Palliat Med. 2023 04; 26(4):456-457. View Abstract
  6. Fatigue in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Survivors: Correlates, Care Team Communication, and Patient-Identified Mitigation Strategies. Transplant Cell Ther. 2023 03; 29(3):200.e1-200.e8. View Abstract
  7. An Automatic Pediatric Palliative Care Consultation for Children Supported on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Survey of Perceived Benefits and Barriers. J Palliat Med. 2022 06; 25(6):952-957. View Abstract
  8. "Good Grief": An Opportunity to Grow, Integrate, or Something Else? J Palliat Med. 2022 02; 25(2):178-179. View Abstract
  9. Health Care Providers' Perspectives on COVID-19 and Medical Neglect in Children with Life-Threatening Complex Chronic Conditions. J Child Adolesc Trauma. 2022 Mar; 15(1):193-199. View Abstract
  10. The Online Life Story Book: A randomized controlled trial on the effects of a digital reminiscence intervention for people with (very) mild dementia and their informal caregivers. PLoS One. 2021; 16(9):e0256251. View Abstract
  11. Are we undermining the value of palliative care through advanced cancer clinical trial consent language? Cancer. 2021 06 15; 127(12):1954-1956. View Abstract
  12. The Impact of Specialty Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology: A Systematic Review. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 05; 61(5):1060-1079.e2. View Abstract
  13. Children at the Intersection of Pediatric Palliative Care and Child Maltreatment: A Vulnerable and Understudied Population. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 07; 62(1):91-97. View Abstract
  14. The Palliative Use of Intrathecal Baclofen in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C. Pediatrics. 2019 11; 144(5). View Abstract
  15. Models of Pediatric Palliative Oncology Outpatient Care-Benefits, Challenges, and Opportunities. J Oncol Pract. 2019 09; 15(9):476-487. View Abstract
  16. Patient- and Nurse-Controlled Analgesia: 22-Year Experience in a Pediatric Hospital. Hosp Pediatr. 2019 02; 9(2):129-133. View Abstract
  17. Self-reported fatigue in children with advanced cancer: Results of the PediQUEST study. Cancer. 2018 09 15; 124(18):3776-3783. View Abstract
  18. Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir. J Palliat Med. 2018 May; 21(5):730-731. View Abstract
  19. From the Child's Word to Clinical Intervention: Novel, New, and Innovative Approaches to Symptoms in Pediatric Palliative Care. Children (Basel). 2018 Mar 28; 5(4). View Abstract
  20. Engaging Patients in Setting a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Agenda in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2018 06; 24(6):1111-1118. View Abstract
  21. Strange Bedfellows No More: How Integrated Stem-Cell Transplantation and Palliative Care Programs Can Together Improve End-of-Life Care. J Oncol Pract. 2017 09; 13(9):569-577. View Abstract
  22. Three sides to a story: Child, parent, and nurse perspectives on the child's experience during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Cancer. 2017 Aug 15; 123(16):3159-3166. View Abstract
  23. Quality of Life in Children With Advanced Cancer: A Report From the PediQUEST Study. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016 08; 52(2):243-53. View Abstract
  24. End-of-Life Care Patterns Associated with Pediatric Palliative Care among Children Who Underwent Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2016 06; 22(6):1049-1055. View Abstract
  25. Caring for Children Who Have Severe Neurological Impairment. J Palliat Med. 2015 Nov; 18(11):991. View Abstract
  26. Parent Outlook: How Parents View the Road Ahead as They Embark on Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Their Child. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2016 Jan; 22(1):104-11. View Abstract
  27. Symptoms and Distress in Children With Advanced Cancer: Prospective Patient-Reported Outcomes From the PediQUEST Study. J Clin Oncol. 2015 Jun 10; 33(17):1928-35. View Abstract
  28. Feasibility of Conducting a Palliative Care Randomized Controlled Trial in Children With Advanced Cancer: Assessment of the PediQUEST Study. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2015 Jun; 49(6):1059-69. View Abstract
  29. Putting pediatric palliative care in prime time. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Nov; 32(31_suppl):68. View Abstract
  30. Caring for children living with life-threatening illness: a growing relationship between pediatric hospital medicine and pediatric palliative care. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2014 Aug; 61(4):xxi-xxiii. View Abstract
  31. Pediatric hospital care for children with life-threatening illness and the role of palliative care. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2014 Aug; 61(4):719-33. View Abstract
  32. Improving the care of children with advanced cancer by using an electronic patient-reported feedback intervention: results from the PediQUEST randomized controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Apr 10; 32(11):1119-26. View Abstract
  33. Pediatric palliative care research comes of age: what we stand to learn from children with life-threatening illness. J Palliat Med. 2013 Apr; 16(4):334-6. View Abstract
  34. Longitudinal Assessment of Symptom Distress in Children with Advanced Cancer: Report of the First 20 Weeks in the Pediatric Quality-of-Life Evaluation of Symptoms Technology (PediQUEST) Study (311-A). J Pain Symptom Manage. 2011 Jan; 41(1):187. View Abstract
  35. Routine Feedback of Patient-Reported Distress in Children With Advanced Cancer: Provider and Family Satisfaction With the Pediatric Quality of Life and Evaluation of Symptoms Technology (PediQUEST) System (311-B). J Pain Symptom Manage. 2011 Jan; 41(1):187-8. View Abstract
  36. Fatigue in children with cancer at the end of life. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2010 Oct; 40(4):483-94. View Abstract
  37. End-of-life experience of children undergoing stem cell transplantation for malignancy: parent and provider perspectives and patterns of care. Blood. 2010 May 13; 115(19):3879-85. View Abstract
  38. An economic analysis of anemia prevention during infancy. J Pediatr. 2009 Jan; 154(1):44-9. View Abstract
  39. An Economic Analysis of Anemia Prevention during Infancy. J. Peds. 2008; in press. View Abstract
  40. Pain and Symptom Control in Pediatrics. Palliative Medicine (Walsh, Caraceni, Fainsinger, Foley, Glare, Goh, Lloyd-Williams, Radbruch). 2008. View Abstract
  41. Assessment and management of fatigue and dyspnea in pediatric palliative care. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2007 Oct; 54(5):735-56, xi. View Abstract
  42. An Economic Analysis of Anemia Prevention During Infancy. Pediatric Research. 2007. View Abstract
  43. Manual of Pediatric Therapeutics (Graef, Wolfsdorf, Greenes). 2007; 1-16. View Abstract
  44. American Academy of Pediatrics Pedialink Hot Topics Educational Module: Iron Deficiency. 2007. View Abstract
  45. Factors associated with fatigue in children with cancer at the end of life. J Clin Oncol. 2006 Jun 20; 24(18_suppl):8574. View Abstract
  46. Factors associated with fatigue in children with cancer at the end of life. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2006; 24(18S):486S. View Abstract
  47. Iron Deficiency in Infants and Toddlers. 2006. View Abstract
  48. Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency in Children. 2006. View Abstract
  49. Approaches to screening for iron deficiency in pediatrics: An update article. Italian J. Pediatrics. 2006; 32(5). View Abstract
  50. Screening healthy infants for iron deficiency using reticulocyte hemoglobin content. JAMA. 2005 Aug 24; 294(8):924-30. View Abstract
  51. The importance of newborn screening in resident education. Pediatr Ann. 2003 Aug; 32(8):549-50. View Abstract
  52. Diet history as an adjunct to hemoglobin (Hb) and reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) in screening for iron deficiency. Pediatric Research. 2003; 53(4):293A. View Abstract
  53. Reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) is better than hemoglobin in identifying iron deficiency. Pediatric Research. 2003; 53(4):293A. View Abstract
  54. HIV-1 Tat induces microvascular endothelial apoptosis through caspase activation. J Immunol. 2001 Sep 01; 167(5):2766-71. View Abstract
  55. HIV-1 gp120- and gp160-induced apoptosis in cultured endothelial cells is mediated by caspases. Blood. 2000 Aug 15; 96(4):1438-42. View Abstract
  56. Posttranslational modifications of the 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase beta1 subunit. J Biol Chem. 1997 Sep 26; 272(39):24475-9. View Abstract
  57. Assignment of acetyl-CoA carboxylase-beta (ACACB) to human chromosome band 12q24.1 by in situ hybridization. Cytogenet Cell Genet. 1997; 77(3-4):176-7. View Abstract
  58. Acifluorfen Resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. 1994. View Abstract

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