#BHD2023 Virtual Event: Presenters

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Karen Popkin, MD

Dr. Karen Popkin


Is a Board-Certified Music Therapist whose career has been focused on addressing the specific needs of cancer patients for over 25 years. I have specialized training in hospice and palliative care music therapy and neurologic music therapy. My clinical practice has spanned at the inpatient bedside and in small groups of oncology inpatients in both the adult and pediatric units at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) as well as with outpatient study participants. I use music therapy to address the psychological and physical manifestations of cancer and cancer therapies mainly in patients, but also for family members and oncology caregivers. I also serve as the Program Coordinator for Creative Arts & Movement Therapies in MSK’s Integrative Medicine Service. I actively supervise other Creative Arts a group of two full-time music therapists and mentor two graduate students each year from New York University and Molloy College who serve as interns on our inpatient units. I have participated in the creation of a model program for the use of music therapy to address bereavement needs of professional cancer caregivers. More recently, I served as an investigator on a project focused on an analysis of different music therapy techniques and their correlation with patient-reported outcomes. During the coronavirus pandemic, I also worked with PI Dr. Jun Mao to launch our virtual integrative medicine program. Specifically, I worked with our music therapists to adapt our current services for online delivery using Zoom video-conferencing technology.

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