Kathleen Ruccione, PhD, MPH, RN, CPON, FAAN

Kathleen Ruccione, PhD, is a certified pediatric oncology nurse and a health educator. Over the past 4 decades at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles she served as nursing administrator in the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, and led the development of innovative programs and services, including the LIFE Survivorship & Transition Program, the HOPE Resource Center for Health Education, and the HOPE web portal, also serving as Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Ruccione holds leadership positions in the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses and the Children's Oncology Group. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the St. Baldrick's Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Western Conservancy of Nursing History. Among other awards and honors, she received the National Nurseweek GEM Nursing Excellence Award - Advancing and Leading the Profession in 2015. Ruccione's dissertation research evaluated organ effects of transfusional iron overload and patient reported outcomes among a cohort of childhood cancer survivors. Ruccione is committed to improving patient outcomes through excellence in the educational preparation of nurse scholars and expert clinicians. She is the Project Director for the HRSA Nurse Faculty Loan Program grant at APU.