Over the course of her 38+ year career in clinical oncology, cancer research and academic leadership, Hacker has developed a reputation as an expert in strategically building programs, centers and research initiatives from the ground up. Hacker’s research interests stem from her extensive clinical experience as an advanced practice nurse. Her formative contributions to advancing oncology nursing science include a progressive research program focused on fatigue, physical activity, exercise interventions and quality of life. She has led efforts to systematically characterize persistent fatigue in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors and developed a novel methodology to examine the dynamic relationship between fatigue and physical activity. To promote functional independence, Hacker devised pragmatic physical activity and exercise interventions, strategically designed to be seamlessly integrated into clinical practice. Her research has been funded by the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research and the Oncology Nursing Society Developing the next generation of nurse scientists is a longtime passion for Hacker as reflected in the more than 20 years that she has taught and mentored students and trainees ranging from undergraduate to post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty. As chair of the Science of Nursing Care Department at Indiana University, Hacker was directly responsible for launching an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program. She also developed and launched the Center for Advancement of Teaching-Learning Communities while serving as associate department head within the School of Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The center was key to strengthening the culture of faculty commitment to student success and addressing the needs of a diverse student body. She has received numerous awards, including the Trish Greene Memorial Quality of Life Lectureship Award from the Oncology Nursing Society, and the Symptom Science Research Interest Group Distinguished Researcher Award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society. She was inducted as aFellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2014.