Professor Sonja McIlfatrick is a Professor in Nursing and Palliative Care and Dean of Doctoral College at Ulster University. She is a distinguished academic whose career has spanned clinical practice, academia, research, and scholarship. Sonja is an internationally recognized leader in palliative care research publishing extensively in the area, with over 200 research outputs and a successful history of grant acquisition, securing over 6 million pounds. She is currently Vice President of European Association of Palliative Care and an elected member of Board of Directors. She holds various Visiting Professor appointments and has served on numerous international research-funding boards. She was appointed Fellowship Ad Eundem, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and Fellow of Royal College of Nursing, UK, and is a UK Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholar. She was awarded an MBE in 2022 for her services to public health and education. Her current research interests include palliative care in chronic illness, decision making at end of life; and public health approach to palliative care.