Hunter Groninger

Hunter Groninger serves as Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, Associate Chair for Research in the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Department of Medicine, and Scientific Director for Palliative Care at the MedStar Health Research Institute. He is the recipient of the 2024 Dr. Richard Payne Leadership Award, given every two years by the Hastings Center to a palliative medicine physician dedicated to providing care to underserved populations. Dr. Groninger is also a Master Facilitator with the Education for Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC) Program at Northwestern University, a Faculty Affiliate in the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities at the University of Virginia, and an investigator at the MedStar Health Research Institute. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NCI, NINR), the American Cancer Society, and the Palliative Care Research Cooperative. Some of his current studies include palliative care delivery in cardiovascular medicine, innovative symptom management strategies, and health disparities in serious illness care.

Research Interests

Dr. Groninger’s research interests include the following:

• Innovative models of palliative care delivery
• Novel strategies to address pain and other disease-related symptoms
• Supportive care for patients with advanced cardiac disease
• Cancer survivorship

Selected Research

Virtual reality to mitigate pain in hospitalized patients with cancer
Dr. Groninger is a principal investigator on this study comparing virtual reality versus guided imagery to mitigate moderate-severe pain related to cancer or cancer therapies.

Palliative telehealth models to improve health-related quality of life
Dr. Groninger and colleagues are evaluating a novel interdisciplinary telehealth program to improve outcomes in patients with advanced illness living at home. 

Evaluating associations of social determinants of health and palliative outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure
Dr. Groninger and colleagues are studying the influence that social determinants of health may have on patient related outcomes at end of life.

View Dr. Groninger’s publications on PubMed.

Visit Dr. Groninger’s clinical practice page.