Member. Anthony Back, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle and a researcher at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Educated at Stanford University and Harvard Medical School, he spent 30 years practicing medical oncology and now works as a board-certified physician in Palliative Medicine.
His research on patient-oncologist communication, supported by the National Cancer Institute and other foundations, led to the creation of VitalTalk, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to training doctors and nurses in communication skills for caring for people with serious illness and their families. VitalTalk has become one of the most successful nonprofit startups in medical education, training more than 800 faculty who have led workshops for over 300,000 clinicians.
This work has been honored by the American Cancer Society with the first Pathfinder in Palliative Care Award and by the American Society of Clinical Oncology with the first Walther Cancer Foundation Palliative and Supportive Care Award. His current research explores psychedelic therapies, including a randomized study of psilocybin therapy for doctors and nurses published in JAMA Network Open in December 2024, as well as a study of Group Retreat Psilocybin Therapy for People Living with Metastatic Cancer conducted at the Whidbey Institute.
A longtime Zen practitioner, he has also been ordained in the lineage of Roshi Joan Halifax.