Megan J. Shen, PhD
Megan Shen is a social psychologist who studies health equity and end-of-life care issues. She designs resources to help patients and their loved ones make decisions about the end-of-life care they want. Dr. Shen is an Associate Professor with the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. She is a first-generation college graduate who grew up in Houston, Texas.
What is a social psychologist?
A social psychologist is a psychologist who studies how individuals are impacted by and relate to their social contexts, such as their family, school, workplace, or religious group. Social psychologists are interested in understanding how an individual’s internal landscape is affected by their relationships with other people and their social and physical environments, and how these factors influence their own decision-making and behavior. They study the behavior of individuals, dyads (such as a patient/caregiver pair), or small groups.
Dr. Shen’s area of interest is understanding how to help patients and their loved ones develop “death literacy” – the ability to plan for in advance and then carry out decisions and tasks related to end-of-life and death. In particular, she has focused on designing “communication tools and interventions that facilitate advanced care planning, especially for Latinos and others who experience health care disparities” (Fred Hutch Faculty Profile). In an article published by Medium in 2019, Dr. Shen explained that “death anxiety” is often a barrier that prevents people, even those with advanced or terminal illnesses, to plan for their own death. She wrote, “death and dying is a well-established psychologically threatening topic.” Dr. Shen’s research is driven by a desire to understand how to help people plan for their end-of-life care so that “more patients near the end of life receive care that is aligned with their values and wishes” (Fred Hutch Faculty Profile).
“Most of my work is with patients who have advanced cancers, and they are so inspiring and resilient which drives me to do better work and create tools and solutions to support them on this hard road of illness.”
— Dr. Megan Shen
Dr. Shen's Story
Dr. Shen grew up in Houston, Texas with her parents and two sisters. She described her mother as a “phenomenal teacher” and “stay-at-home mom”. Her father is an “incredibly brilliant man” who works as a computer engineer. As a child, she had many ideas of what she might do for a career when she grew up, including becoming CEO of a major company, working in advertising and marketing, or becoming a fashion designer or professional ballet dancer.
At Baylor University, Dr. Shen chose to major in Psychology and French, with a minor in Philosophy. That decision was born out of her extreme passion to learn about human behavior (Psychology major), fascination and love for France and French culture (French major), and intellectual curiosity about the field that gave birth to the study of psychology (Philosophy minor). It was not until her senior year of college that she started to zero in on what she wanted to do for a career. She deepened her knowledge of social psychology by pursuing a Master’s degree and then a Doctorate, both focused on Social and Experimental Psychology.
Educational Pathway
Dr. Shen’s educational pathway toward a career in social psychology is described below:
- Undergraduate/College: B.A. (summa cum laude), double major in Psychology and French, minor in Philosophy, Baylor University, Waco, TX
- Graduate School: M.A. in Social and Experimental Psychology, Baylor University, Waco, TX
- Doctorate: Ph.D. in Social and Experimental Psychology, Baylor University, Waco, TX
- Post-Doctoral Studies: Chief Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York,
A Fork in the Road
By allowing her curiosity and passions to lead, Dr. Shen made an important decision between two career paths while she was in graduate school. She explained, “I was on a clear path to become a university professor, but one day, I had the opportunity to analyze data for an oncologist who was working with terminal cancer patients who had only a few months left to live.” Dr. Shen reflected, “I was really inspired and excited about the idea of using my skillset to help design supportive tools to help people walk through a challenging disease trajectory.” That opportunity led her down a path toward researching end-of-life care at a cancer center.
The power of mentorship. Dr. Shen considers herself lucky to have had relationships with incredible mentors. Three people in particular stood out for her. In graduate school, English literature professor and Honors Program faculty Dr. Gardner Campbell was a mentor who reminded her of “the critical importance of pursuing things I was passionate and curious about.” Dr. Shen shared, “I distinctly remember when I was trying to decide whether to take a faculty position at a liberal arts school or a postdoc [post-doctoral research position] at a cancer center, and he encouraged me to be bold and go with passion.” Now over a decade later, Dr. Shen reflected, “I’m so glad I tried this path out, which felt like the risky decision at the time.”
In addition, Dr. Shen's PhD mentor Dr. Wade Rowatt, a professor of psychology, was an important force. Dr. Shen recalled that he "not only gave me all of the critical tools I needed to be a successful social psychologist, he taught me the importance of passion." She explained, "while many of my colleagues suffered working under mentors who demanded results and output from them, my mentor consistently came back to the central idea of finding what you love and doing that." Dr. Shen remembered, "it's in that space, that I was allowed to be creative, thrive, and ultimately pursue a path less traveled for social psychologists, which is working in cancer research." Dr. Rowatt was "critical in helping me take that leap," she shared.
Dr. Shen also noted the important influence of Dr. Holly Prigerson. Dr. Prigerson is a researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College and is described by Dr. Shen as “a giant in the field who has been so influential in the work that I do.” Dr. Prigerson is “equal parts passionate about advocating for terminally ill cancer patients while also being a brilliant and talented scientist.” Dr. Shen reflected that Dr. Prigerson “taught me how to be successful in this space and design solutions worth having.”
For tips on finding mentors and building mentoring relationships, check out our education and careers info: Becoming the next cancer researcher or clinician.
A Day in the Life of a Social Psychologist Researcher
Dr. Shen shared that a typical day at work at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center consists of “meeting with collaborators or community partners, training and overseeing research staff for my projects, analyzing data, and writing.” As a social scientist, writing is a huge part of her work. Dr. Shen explained, “I write grants, journal articles, op-eds, health policy position statements to make recommendations to policy makers, and publish through various outlets to make sure that all of the science and work we do gets disseminated to multiple audiences.” Her op-ed articles have been published by USA Today, Medium, and the Huffington Post. For an example of one of her articles for the general public, see “The Number One Thing the Dying Say is Most Important to Focus on in Life,” published on Medium.com in May 2022.
The best part of her job? The people. Dr. Shen shared that it is the patients, community partners, and oncologists (physicians who treat patients with cancer) who make her job special. She explained that “the community partners are a delight to work with because they are embedded within various underserved communities and are devoted to bringing equity to the healthcare space.” She feels that it is “a pleasure to think about how to partner with them and serve these communities alongside them.” In addition, Dr. Shen greatly appreciates her colleagues. She shared, “I love working with my oncology colleagues to help think of innovative solutions to their biggest supportive care challenges in treating their cancer patients.”
The biggest challenge at work? Designing solutions that will actually be used in the healthcare system. Dr. Shen shared, “I think the biggest challenge is thinking of solutions that are both effective at helping improve patient outcomes AND that work within our healthcare systems in the U.S.” With an eye toward cancer patients and their families, Dr. Shen explained, “I want to design solutions that work and will have uptake, which ends up being a lot harder than you would think!”
Designing End-of-Life Planning Tools with Love and Care
Dr. Shen’s work focuses on people who have advanced illness or who have received a terminal diagnosis. These patients and their families are facing some of the most challenging decisions, while at the same time navigating a complicated emotional landscape. One of Dr. Shen’s current projects is to partner with Peacefully, a tech startup in Los Angeles, to design a website that will help patients and their loved ones plan for all of the tasks at the end of life. She explained that this includes “planning financial affairs, planning for medical care, making funeral arrangements and preferences, and ensuring that their estates and loved ones are well taken care of.” As Dr. Shen explained, “traditionally, all of these tasks are very hard to do on your own, with no clear guidance on what even needs to be done.” Therefore, “the goal of this project is to create a tool that can help walk patients who have a serious illness through these necessary steps to help them have peace of mind and support along the way to make these tough decisions.” Dr. Shen’s other research projects focus on developing tools and interventions for patients, their caregivers, and loved ones who are experiencing advanced cancer or early stage dementia.
Family, Broadway Shows, and Marathons
Outside of her work life, Dr. Shen can be found in the audience of live performances of just about any kind. She enjoys Broadway shows, theater performances, as well as symphony and opera productions. She is a passionate mother to her daughter (4 years old) and son (2 years old), with whom she enjoys spending every ounce of her free time. She also enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, and visiting museums and art galleries, most often with her kids and husband (Patrick) alongside her. Dr. Shen is also “a huge fan of distance running” and has completed the New York City marathon.
Advice for Students
Dr. Shen’s advice for high school students? Find mentors. For students interested in a career in the social sciences, Dr. Shen suggested that the first important step is “to find a mentor in college who can help you be a part of a research lab.” A strong mentorship relationship can also be helpful for navigating the process of applying to graduate school. Dr. Shen’s second piece of advice is “to find people doing what you want to do and then see how they got there.” She explained that students should “reach out and talk to them if you can.”
“The overarching theme of my success in this field is good mentors.”
— Dr. Megan Shen
U.S. Wage Information
According to the 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, the median wage for social scientists in the U.S. is $102.210.
Additional Resources
Credit: Credit: Thank you to Dr. Shen for generously participating in this project. Some information used to develop this profile sourced from “How Not to Have a Worse Death” (Shen, Medium.com, 2019) and Dr. Shen’s faculty profile. Career profile written by Dr. Kristen Clapper Bergsman.