Leslie J. Blackhall, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Humanities at the University Of Virginia School of Medicine and Director of Palliative Care Services and received her medical degree from New York University. Dr. Blackhall has had a career-long focus on the care of patients with life-limiting illnesses. Her current work focuses on the understanding of the end of life as a developmental stage and part of a continuum of care for all patients, and to transform medical education and health care systems to ensure patients in this stage of life receive compassionate, mindful, inter-professional, and clinically excellent care.