Korijna Valenti

University of Exeter Scholar Award

Korijna Valenti is a palliative care trained gerontologist and health equity researcher based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She earned her PhD in Gerontology from Miami University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in aging and palliative care at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. Her research focuses on serious illness communication and how clinician-patient interactions shape trust, decision-making, and equitable care for LGBTQ+ older adults and other structurally marginalized populations. Through community-engaged and qualitative approaches, she examines how identity, frailty, and social context influence care experiences across a range of settings. As a University of Exeter Scholar Awardee, Dr. Valenti will investigate how trust is built or eroded in serious illness conversations across the UK, working with both rural and coastal populations in South West England and urban communities in London. She looks forward to collaborating with researchers, clinicians, and community partners to advance inclusive, patient-centred care. Outside of her research, Dr. Valenti is a certified end-of-life doula and maintains a strong connection to coastal environments, having grown up on the Oregon coast. She enjoys dance as well as swimming in any body of water, and brings a long-standing appreciation for the Muppets to her life and work.