Dr. Elk returned to academia at the University of South Carolina, to pursue her passion in health disparities and palliative care. Her current studies focus on developing culturally tailored Palliative Care programs for underrepresented elders in rural South Carolina, using a community based participatory research. The program will be one of the first in rural USA to use telemedicine to provide palliative care to elders at end of life, using a program that is being developed by the community for the community.