Lillie Shockney

Lillie Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, is a globally recognized leader in the fields of cancer care navigation, survivorship, patient-centered care, and quality-of-life preservation. With a clinical focus on breast cancer, she has spent over four decades transforming the cancer care experience for patients and families through advocacy, innovation, and education. A two-time breast cancer survivor herself, Shockney brings unmatched insight and passion to her work, combining personal experience with professional excellence.

Since joining Johns Hopkins in 1983, Shockney has made history within the institution. In 2008, she became the first hospital nurse appointed to a Distinguished Service Faculty Chair by the university's president and board of trustees. In 2016, she was named a full professor in the School of Medicine—becoming the only nurse at Johns Hopkins, and in the nation, to hold a primary faculty appointment at a medical school and to be named a University Distinguished Service Professor of Breast Cancer. She currently serves on 28 medical advisory boards and has been a frequent medical consultant for ABC News, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CNN.

Shockney has co-founded two influential professional organizations: the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) in 2009, now with over 8,900 members, and the Association of Chronic & Complex Care Nurse Navigators in 2021. She also co-created Work Stride: Managing Cancer at Work, an employee benefit program launched at Johns Hopkins that has expanded nationally to support working cancer patients and caregivers across the country. Her contributions have been honored with 61 awards, including induction into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame and national recognitions such as Johnson & Johnson’s Most Amazing Nurse in America and Komen’s Professor of Survivorship. Her ongoing research focuses on preserving quality of life for patients with metastatic breast cancer. Her groundbreaking career is the subject of the documentary "Lillie Shockney: Breakthrough Women in Science and Medicine".