Bio

Dr. Helen Sun is a clinician educator in geriatrics and palliative medicine. She cares for older adults in post-acute long term care facilities and provides palliative care to those with serious illness in the outpatient setting. In addition, Dr. Sun has an interest in medical education and is in the process of completing her master's degree at Harvard.

Clinical Focus

  • Family Medicine
  • Geriatrics
  • Palliative Care

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Fellow of the Year Award, NYU Geriatrics (6/2019)
  • Best Graduate Medical Education Project Award, NYU Langone Medical Center (6/2019)
  • Best Paper Award in The Science and Clinical Care of Older Adults session, American Geriatrics Society (5/2019)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Member, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2019 - Present)
  • Member, AMDA Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Society (2018 - Present)
  • Member, American Geriatrics Society (2018 - Present)
  • Member, American Board of Family Medicine (2015 - Present)

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Academic staff Department: Med/Primary Care and Population Health Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical (Primary)  Manor Care Health Services 1150 Tilton Dr Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408) 736-8629 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5411

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Medical education in geriatrics and palliative medicine
Advance care planning

Graduate and Fellowship Programs

All Publications

  • Hospital volunteers: an innovative pipeline to increase the geriatrics workforce GERONTOLOGY & GERIATRICS EDUCATION Sun, H., Zweig, Y., Perskin, M., Chodosh, J., Blachman, N. L. 2022; 43 (4): 564-570

    Abstract

    Objectives: There is an urgent need to expand the geriatrics workforce. By providing volunteers meaningful experiences with older adults, we hoped to stimulate interest in geriatrics.Design: Electronic mixed methods survey of volunteers from April 2018-October 2019Setting: Academic medical centerParticipants: 32 volunteersMeasurements: We conducted a mixed methods survey of volunteers to understand their experiences in the program, in part using a Likert scale. Two coders independently compared themes to ensure consensus.Results: Thirty-six percent (n = 32) completed surveys; 69% (n = 22) were women; most (59%) were first in their family to work in healthcare, and 81% (n = 26) had prior healthcare experience. Volunteers found patients to be engaging, and recognized that older adults need attention. Almost half (47%, n = 15) expressed interest in working with older adults before starting the program, which increased to 63% (n = 20) after the program. Most volunteers (n = 30, 94%) answered 'definitely yes' or 'probably yes' for feeling appreciated by patients, and 88% (n = 28) felt appreciated by patients' families.Conclusion: A volunteer program pairing companions with older age inpatients increased interest and appreciation for older adults. While additional research should examine whether such experiences influence career choices, this intervention proposes an innovative pipeline to increase the geriatrics workforce.

    View details for DOI 10.1080/02701960.2021.1946045

    View details for Web of Science ID 000670456000001

    View details for PubMedID 34229562

  • Characteristics and Palliative Care Needs of COVID-19 Patients Receiving Comfort-Directed Care JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY Sun, H., Lee, J., Meyer, B. J., Myers, E. L., Nishikawa, M. S., Tischler, J. L., Blinderman, C. D. 2020; 68 (6): 1162-1164

    View details for DOI 10.1111/jgs.16507

    View details for Web of Science ID 000530520800001

    View details for PubMedID 32329525

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7264665

  • PERK-KIPK-KCBP signalling negatively regulates root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY Humphrey, T. V., Haasen, K. E., Aldea-Brydges, M., Sun, H., Zayed, Y., Indriolo, E., Goring, D. R. 2015; 66 (1): 71-83

    Abstract

    The Arabidopsis proline-rich, extensin-like receptor-like kinases (PERKs) are a small group of receptor-like kinases that are thought to act as sensors at the cell wall through their predicted proline-rich extracellular domains. In this study, we focused on the characterization of a subclade of three Arabidopsis predicted PERK genes, PERK8, -9, and -10, for which no functions were known. Yeast two-hybrid interaction studies were conducted with the PERK8,- 9, and -10 cytosolic kinase domains, and two members of the Arabidopsis AGC VIII kinase family were identified as interacting proteins: AGC1-9 and the closely related kinesin-like calmodulin-binding protein (KCBP)-interacting protein kinase (KIPK). As KIPK has been identified previously as an interactor of KCBP, these interactions were also examined further and confirmed in this study. Finally, T-DNA mutants for each gene were screened for altered phenotypes under different conditions, and from these screens, a role for the PERK, KIPK, and KCBP genes in negatively regulating root growth was uncovered.

    View details for DOI 10.1093/jxb/eru390

    View details for Web of Science ID 000351660900007

    View details for PubMedID 25262228

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4265151