Junior Faculty Visiting Professor Program
About
The Junior Faculty Visiting Professor Program (JVPP) supports early-career palliative care researchers by fostering cross-institutional collaborations. Junior faculty from a range of disciplines visit hosting institutions with robust palliative care research programs to share their work and make connections.
Since the program’s start in 2022, 29 junior faculty members have been matched to hosting institutions based on focus areas including palliative care, pain and symptom management, rehabilitation sciences, geriatric cardiology, and care and policies for older adults living with neurodegenerative diseases.
Inside the Program
Each year, participating partner institutions are invited to nominate a junior faculty member from their organization and/or to host a visiting professor. Eligible nominees are early-career faculty within five years of their initial appointment, holding MD or PhD degrees, and representing diverse disciplines across inter-professional palliative care teams, including fields such as Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, Pharmacy, Psychology, and Chaplaincy. PaRC pairs each nominated junior faculty member with a host institution based on alignment of research focus areas.
The visiting professor travels to the host institution, typically for a one- to two-day visit, though longer stays may be arranged based on mutual preference. Visits usually feature a mix of in-person and virtual meetings or events. During their visit, the visiting professor is expected to present their work in a 45-minute session, with presentation venue details coordinated by the host institution.
For more details, check out the FAQ below, or contact the Palliative Research Center at parcpitt@pitt.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
PaRC serves as the program matchmaker, connecting nominated junior faculty from participating institutions to a host institution. Annually, PaRC is responsible for:
- Identifying and confirming participating partner institutions.
- Soliciting and tracking visiting professor nominees.
- Matching nominees with a host school based on shared research interests.
- Promoting visiting professors’ speaking engagements to PaRC’s network.
As a partner institution, you choose to commit to one or both of the following:
- Nominate a junior faculty member. Nominate and support a junior faculty member’s visit to another institution by covering their travel and accommodation expenses.
- Host a visiting professor. Prepare a robust itinerary for a visiting professor from a participating institution.
- Prepare institutional resources. Compile a list of relevant palliative care researchers, labs, and resources that may interest the visiting professor.
- Identify a point person. Designate an administrative contact or faculty member to coordinate visit logistics.
- Plan a pre-visit call. Schedule an initial call with the professor to confirm details like visit dates, the venue for their talk, and key contacts.
- Develop a detailed itinerary. Include a 45-minute talk at an appropriate venue (e.g., grand rounds, seminar), along with lab visits, meetings with local researchers, and informal networking opportunities (e.g., meals or events).
- Promote the presentation. Publicize the talk; if suitable for external audiences, share details with PaRC for broader promotion.
- Provide updates. Notify the professor of any itinerary changes as the visit approaches.
- Enjoy hosting. Host the visit! After the visit, please complete the program evaluation survey from PaRC.
- Review the resource list provided by the host institution and identify people you would like to meet with at the institution to which you are matched.
- Attend a short planning call with the host institution.
- Develop and present a 45-minute talk on your research.
- Enjoy your visit!
- Complete a post-program survey from PaRC.
Nominating institutions are responsible for covering the cost of their nominated professor’s travel and accommodation expenses. Hosting institutions may choose to plan a dinner, lunches, or coffee meetups for the visiting professor as a part of the visiting professor’s itinerary and are responsible for such expenses. PaRC does not support program costs.
Faculty Reflections
Tamra Keeney DPT, PhD, MGH Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine, Harvard Medical School, visited The Ohio State University:
I appreciated the thoughtful planning that OSU put into creating my schedule for my visit. I had the opportunity to meet with leadership and another JVPP scholar earlier in the year to plan my visit and to coach me on what to expect and how to use my time, which was invaluable and really set me up for success.
Karen Moss PhD, RN, CNL, The Ohio State University, College of Nursing, visited University of California San Francisco:
The trip was well-planned in advance. The Works-In-Progress session was amazingly helpful and did not feel burdensome. Great feedback and conversations were had regarding my work.
