KAREN HURLEY
ATTENDING ASSISTANT PSYCHOLOGIST, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER

Karen Hurley is an Attending Assistant Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial-Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. Her research and clinical work for the past ten years has focused on psychological aspects of hereditary risk for cancer. She received her A.B. in psychology from Bryn Mawr College in 1983, and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Temple University in 1998. Dr. Hurley has received several research grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense breast cancer research program to study decision-making about prophylactic mastectomy and oophorectomy in women undergoing genetic counseling and testing for BRCA1/2 mutations, and adherence to intensive screening in individuals with HNPCC/Lynch syndrome. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist, and conducts consultations and psychotherapy for distress about cancer risk, decision-making about testing and surgery, bereavement, and family communication issues. She has given lectures nationally and internationally at research conferences, universities, medical centers, and lay audiences, and conducted workshops on providing psychological support to individuals with hereditary cancer risk.