R. Sean Morrison MD

Dr. R. Sean Morrison is the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Professor and Chair for the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also the Director of the Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute and the National Palliative Care Research Center, organizations devoted to improving care for persons with serious illness and their families and enhancing the knowledge base of palliative care in the United States. During 2009-2010, he served as President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Dr. Morrison is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine's 2010 PDIA National Leadership Award and the 2013 Excellence in Scientific Research Award, the American Geriatrics Society’s Outstanding Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award, and the American Cancer Society’s Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Award and Pathfinder in Palliative Care Award. His current research focuses on improving the management of pain in older adults and on developing and evaluating models of palliative care delivery in hospitals and the community.

Dr. Morrison has received over fifty million dollars in research funding and published over 200 research articles. His work has appeared in all major peer-reviewed medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He edited the first textbook on geriatric palliative care, recently edited a new textbook on evidence-based palliative care, and has contributed to more than 20 books on the subject of palliative care. As one of the leading figures in the field of palliative medicine, Dr. Morrison has appeared numerous times on television, radio, and in print, including ABC World News Tonight, CNN, MSNBC, BBC news, NPR’s “Marketplace", CBC’s "As It Happens”; and the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Guardian (UK), Globe and Mail (Canada).

Dr. Morrison received his BA from Brown University and his MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his residency training at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center followed by fellowship training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. He has been on the faculty of the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai since 1995.