Immediate Past President
Sonja Mcilfatrick, PhD, RN, FRCN, FRCSI, FAAN
Head of School and Professor of Nursing and Palliative Care
Ulster University, School of Nursing
Newtownabbey
United Kingdom
Professional Biography
Dr. Sonja McIlfatrick is a Professor in Nursing and Palliative Care and the Head of School of Nursing at Ulster University. She is an experienced clinical academic with over twenty years of experience in nursing and palliative care practice, education, and research. Within her previous role as the Head of Research for the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (2011-2014) she led the establishment of the All Ireland Palliative Care Research Network (PCRN), which included the establishment of priorities for palliative care research across the island of Ireland. Sonja has published widely in academic and professional journals with over 150 research outputs and publications and has a successful history of grant acquisition, securing over 4 million pounds. Professor Mcilfatrick is an internationally recognized leader in palliative care research and has been invited to deliver presentations at key national and international events. She is appointed as a Visiting Professor at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, University of Chiba, Japan, and the University of Technology, Sydney working with the Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT). She has served on numerous international research-funding boards, such as the German Government research funding panel, and is a current member of the Marie Curie UK Funding Research Committee. She is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, is a UK Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholar, and is a member of the research advisory committee for the Council of Deans for Health, UK. Sonja also has a keen interest in doctoral education, serving as a past President of the INDEN. Her current research interests include palliative care in chronic illness, management of clinical symptoms; decision making at end of life; and public health approach to palliative care.