I have been a member of the palliative care program (now Division of Palliative Medicine) at UCSF for the past 9 years. I am proficient in: study design, program evaluation, mixed-methods research, and statistical analysis. These skills have been utilized in three distinct fields of enquiry: 1) patient–level clinical research, 2) institutional and programmatic research, and 3) instrument validation. I have been involved with the Palliative Care Quality Network (PCQN) since it was established in 2009. As such, my research addressing patient–level clinical research in palliative care has been closely aligned to the interests of the PCQN members. This research has involved assessing the prevalence and severity of symptoms among seriously-ill patients. I have been responsible for liaising with research teams to address a broad range of outcomes that have been disease specific (i.e. neurological disorders, renal disease, liver disease), and symptom focused (pain, anxiety, dyspnea). Institutional and programmatic research has provided normative data to help guide the growth and sustainability of palliative care programs. This research has described the structure and characteristics of inpatient, outpatient, and pediatric palliative care services within hospitals throughout California. This research has also identified barriers to hospitals creating a palliative care service. This field of enquiry has also examined the changes in structure and characteristics of inpatients palliative care services over time. Instrument validation research has assessed the validity of using single-item measures to assess patients for complex conditions such pain and depression.