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Dr. Karen B. Hirschman is a research assistant professor in the School of Nursing and a fellow at the Institute on Aging at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hirschman came to the School of Nursing in July, 2004 after completing a two-year NRSA postdoctoral training program in age-related neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine.

Dr. Hirschman's program of research is centered on advance care planning, decision making, caregiver burden and end-of-life care with a specific emphasis on individuals with cognitive impairments and their family members. With a background in social work and social welfare and training with a multidisciplinary team of health care experts through her a postdoctoral training program, Dr. Hirschman brings this uniquely blended experience as an interdisciplinary researcher.

Since she joining the School of Nursing, Dr. Hirschman has received funding from the Alzheimer's Association and was the first School of Nursing recipient of funding from the Institute on Aging. She presents her work locally and nationally and is published in major journals on aging and geriatrics. She collaborates on multiple projects with colleagues at Penn in the School of Medicine, Alzheimer's Disease Center, Penn Home Care and Hospice, and the Institute on Aging.