Loretta A. Williams PhD, APRN, MSN, BSN, BA

Lori Williams is interested in the measurement of symptoms, the use of qualitative research methods in the development of patient-reported outcomes measures, the biological mechanisms of symptom production, the effects of genetics on symptoms, and the effects of symptoms on family caregivers of cancer patients. She has studied the effects of serum cytokine levels on symptoms in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia or myelodysplastic syndrome undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation and in patients with lung and gastrointestinal tract cancers undergoing concurrent chemoradiation. She studied the experience of cancer-related fatigue with a grant from Cephalon, Inc.

With funding from the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation, Dr Williams developed a symptom assessment tool for patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease. She also developed a symptom assessment tool for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia and is developing a symptom assessment tool for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours, both with grants from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. She is developing an assessment tool for the dermatological symptoms of cancer and cancer therapies.

Dr Williams is an Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse and has worked in oncology nursing for more than 30 years. She is actively involved in leadership with the national Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). She was recently elected to the Board of Directors of ONS as a Director at Large. She was the chairperson of the 2009-2010 ONS Foundation Fellowship and Small Grant Review Teams and is a regular reviewer for Oncology Nursing Forum. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Patient Advocate and National Patient Advocate Foundations. She was an NIH fellow in 2002 at the National Institute of Nursing Research Summer Genetics Institute. She was the recipient of an American Cancer Society Scholarship for doctoral study in oncology nursing.