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Dr. Ann Berger joins the staff of the Clinical Center on Aug. 1. She will set up and head a new Pain and Symptom Management Service, which will help manage pain as well as other symptoms that make patients physically uncomfortable, such as difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting, and weight loss.
“I am quite excited about coming to the Clinical Center,” said Dr. Berger. “Clearly NIH is ready for pain and palliative care. I am anxious to start the service as well as educational programs in pain and palliative care, and also to have national input into this issue.”
Dr. Berger earned a BS degree in nursing from New York University and an MSN degree in oncology nursing from the University of Pennsylvania.
After working as an oncology clinical nurse specialist for several years, Dr. Berger completed her medical training at the Medical College of Ohio, in Toledo.
She completed an internship and residency at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, and went on to Yale University for a fellowship in medical oncology and pain and palliative care. She stayed on the faculty at Yale, where she started a palliative care service. She achieved the rank of assistant professor in medicine and anesthesiology.
Dr. Berger comes to the CC from Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, in Camden, NJ, where she is director of supportive care services. She is actively involved in the care of patients as well as in education and research. She teaches a palliative care course to medical students, residents, and fellows, and chairs the ethics committee.
Nationally, Dr. Berger is the leader for supportive care research in the Cancer Control Committee in Cancer and Leukemia Group Board, chair of the CME committee for the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care, and is involved in many professional societies. She has lectured extensively on pain and palliative care and has published many articles in the field. She is senior editor of a major textbook in palliative care, “Principles and Practice of Supportive Oncology.”
“We are delighted to have Dr. Berger join our staff,” said CC Director Dr. John Gallin. “Her expertise in pain and palliative care will provide the leadership that is crucial to the success of this new program.”