Research Education Core (REC)

Download Dr. Lipsitz biosketch

Dr. Lipsitz was one of the first geriatricians to be trained in the Harvard Geriatric Fellowship Program. He subsequently became a National Institute on Aging Academic (K23) Awardee, with Hebrew SeniorLife (formerly the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged) as his primary clinical and research site. As a fellow, he began a systematic series of epidemiologic and physiologic studies evaluating syncope and abnormal blood pressure regulation, discovered postprandial hypotension in the elderly, and subsequently acquired funding for his studies through an NIA-funded Program Project, which he directed for 20 years. In this capacity he provided on-site management and established strong working relationships with project directors from multiple Harvard-affiliated institutions. This program project supported the prospective, observational MOBILIZE Boston Study, which has elucidated numerous novel risk factors for falls over the past 10 years. Dr. Lipsitz’s research has been quite productive, resulting in 250 original articles in peer-reviewed journals, many of which involve clinical trials and translational research.

During his career, Dr. Lipsitz has received continuous NIA funding for his research, directed an Older Americans Independence Center, led a T32 training program and the Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS), and acquired two D.W. Reynolds Grants for geriatric education at HMS. He has mentored 34 successful postdoctoral trainees, including 2 Beeson Scholars and 4 T32 trainees, and received the prestigious “William Silen Lifetime Achievement” award for mentoring. His research into various function promoting therapies, access to Harvard-wide resources, academic leadership experience, skills in mentoring, and familiarity with NIA Center Grants and Boston’s academic geriatric community all make him ideally suited to lead the Boston OAIC and its Research Education Component.

Download Dr. Wagers’ biosketch

Dr. Wagers is an established investigator who has led a research laboratory studying the regenerative biology of aging for more than 10 years. She is also a Principal Faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and serves on its Executive Committee. Dr. Wagers is a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award, the Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award, the WM Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholar Award, and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. Her current research focuses on defining the factors and mechanisms that regulate the migration, expansion, and regenerative potential of adult blood-forming and muscle-forming stem cells.

She received her Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis from Northwestern University in 1999, and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow studying stem cell biology in the laboratory of Dr. Irving Weissman in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Download Dr. Marcantonio’s biosketch

Dr. Marcantonio’s is an internationally recognized expert and clinical investigator in the area of delirium. He has conducted a series of observational and interventional studies designed to improve delirium identification, target individuals at risk, identify modifiable risk factors, and test intervention strategies to reduce the incidence, severity and duration of delirium. He currently lead three NIH-funded studies in delirium research, including the Biomarker Discovery for Delirium project within the first NIH-funded program project in the field of delirium research.

Training/Education: Dr.  Cunningham graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed training in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and advanced heart failure / cardiac transplantation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Research Interests: Dr. Cunningham seeks to leverage large-scale proteomics to identify heart failure patients with distinct physiology and more precisely target heart therapies in clinical trials. He is also applying machine learning to identify heart failure events in the electronic health record.

Research Project (REC): Cardiac MRI and Plasma Proteomics to Investigate Myocardial Interstitial Fibrosis

Training/Education: Dr. Kletzien completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was also a 2x Division I NCAA National Champion in Women’s Ice Hockey. She also received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and a certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin. As a Ph.D. student, her research was supported by a NIDCD-funded T32 and a NIA-funded F31. Now as postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Amy Wagers at Harvard University, Heid’s research is currently supported by a NIA-funded F32 and the Aramont Fellowship Fund for Emerging Science Research.

Research Interests: Dr. Kletzien is interested in understanding the molecular underpinnings and dynamics of age-related head and neck tissue dysfunction and head and neck cancer (HNC) initiation. Her research harnesses novel multi-omics and, in vivo, CRISPR-mediated genome engineering approaches. Her ultimate goal is to develop novel, targeted, therapies for the rescue and prevention of age-related disorders and diseases affecting head and neck tissues.

Research Project (REC): Impact of biologic sex and age on epigenetic and regenerative capacity of head and neck stem cells

Training/Education: Dr Shi earned her medical degree and completed residency at the University of Chicago, followed by a Geriatrics fellowship at the Harvard Multicampus Geriatrics Program. She then completed an NIA T32-funded Harvard Translational Research in Aging Training at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute of Hebrew SeniorLife.

Research Interests: Dr. Shi’s researches patient-centered post-acute care outcomes with a focus on skilled nursing facilities, leveraging large databases including large national surveys and Medicare claims. She has also worked with prospective cohorts examining quality of life and physical recovery during and after rehabilitation.  Her ultimate goal is to create interventions that can holistically enhance quality of life and optimize functional recovery by combining geriatrics and rehabilitation sciences to enhance post-acute rehabilitation in skilled nursing facilities.

Research Project (REC): Feasibility of a multicomponent frailty intervention in post-acute SNFs

Training/Education: Dr. Divakaran completed his undergraduate studies at MIT, medical school at Harvard, and internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and cardiovascular imaging training at BWH. He was selected to serve as a Chief Medical Resident at the Brigham during academic year 2017-2018.

Research Interests: Dr. Divakaran’s research focuses on the use of perfusion and metabolic imaging of the heart and skeletal muscle to better understand the pathophysiology of diseases such as periperal artery disease, coronary artery disease, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and inflammatory cardiomyopathies, such as cardiac sarcoidosis and myocarditis.

Research Project (REC): Skeletal muscle perfusion and energetics in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease

Training/Education: Dr. DuMontier received his B.A. in Liberal Arts and Pre-Medicine at the University of Notre Dame. He received his M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his residency in internal medicine at Boston University Medical Center. He then completed his fellowship in geriatrics at the Harvard Multi-Campus Program. His research is currently supported by the NIA T32-funded Harvard Translational Research in Aging Training Program, and he provides geriatric comanagement for older adults with cancer.

Research Interests: Integrating geriatric measures into oncology practice and research to (1) better risk stratify older patients for treatment selection and (2) identify age-related vulnerabilities for further management regardless of what cancer treatment is chosen.

Research Project (REC): Integrating feasible and valid functional outcomes in older patients with multiple myeloma undergoing chemotherapy

Training/Education: Dr. Timothy Anderson is a primary care physician, health services researcher, and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in the Division of General Medicine at BIDMC. He joined the faculty in 2019 after completing an internal medicine residency and chief medical residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a primary care research fellowship at the University of California San Francisco..

Research Interests: Dr. Anderson’s primary research interests are identifying strategies to improve the quality of care delivered to older adults with cardiovascular conditions and to reduce the delivery of low-value prescribing and diagnostic testing.

Research Project (REC): Impact of intensifying older adult’s antihypertensive medication regimens at hospital discharge on home blood p;ressure and functional recovery

Training/Education: Dr. Roh is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Boston Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine. He joined the faculty in November 2019. He obtained an MD and PhD (Cell Biology and Molecular Physiology) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine through the Medical Scientist Training Program. He completed a six-year integrated Plastic Surgery Residency in 2019 from the Harvard Combined Plastic Surgery Program.

Research Interests: Dr. Roh’s research focuses on senescence, wound healing, tissue repair.

Research Project (REC): Contribution of cellular senescence to delayed wound healing of aging

Training/Education: Dr. Quach is a Research Scientist and Gerontologist at the VA Boston healthcare system. She earned Medical Doctor degree from Hanoi Medical University. This is the oldest and prestigious university in Vietnam, founded in 1902 by the French colonial government under the name Indochina Medical College. Dr. Alexandre Yesin was the first president of HMU and was the co-discoverer of the bacillus responsible for the bubonic plague. She was awarded a scholarship to further her research at Brown University, which she concluded with a MPH degree. She received her PhD degree in gerontology from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2016.

Research Interests: Her research interests are in the interface of social, cognitive and physical functions in older adults. She also has a strong background in research methodology on aging, statistics related to survival analyses, generalized estimating equations, and mediation analyses. She would like to further her engagement in network analysis to understand the complex relationships between social behaviors, and community integration to influence health outcomes. Her ultimate research goal is to improve the quality of care and treatment for older civilians, veterans and their families.

Research Project (REC): Physical function: the roles of social engagement and cognitive impairment

Training/Education: Dr. Reid completed his doctoral degree in Clinical Research from Trinity College Dublin in 2014, having systematically examined aspects of muscle performance, mobility limitations, exercise interventions and cognitive functioning in older adults. In addition to his initial undergraduate training in Exercise Physiology, Dr. Reid also possesses an MPH degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Tufts University School of Medicine. He has extensive training and experience in conducting clinical trials designed to assess and maintain physical and cognitive function in older adults.

Research Interests: Skeletal muscle performance and human aging; assessment of mobility and cognition; exercise and nutritional interventions to preserve independence with advancing age; translational science to promote healthy aging in underserved populations.

Research Project (REC): Translating exercise into the community to preserve independence among older adults with motoric cognitive risk syndrome.

Training/Education: Dr. Sinha received his B.A. at the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Following this, he attending the University of Michigan Medical School. He next matriculated into the Harvard Plastic Surgery Residency Program. During this time, he was awarded an F32 and spent two dedicated research years focused on studying inflammation and loss of skeletal muscle regeneration during aging. He is now an Attending Plastic Surgeron at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Research Interests: Goal is to evaluate derangements of inflammation and the hypoxia pathway that occur with aging or diabetes and determine if reversal of these processes can limit loss of skeletal muscle regeneration and muscle wasting that occurs in these conditions.

Research Project (REC): Examine role of prostaglandin E2 in aging associated loss of skeletal muscle regeneration.

Training/Education: Dr. Orkaby received her B.A. in Music and Biology at Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University, in New York, and M.D. from the Medical School for International Health at Ben Gurion University in Israel. Dr. Orkaby completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Geriatrics Fellowship at the Harvard Combined Program. She received additional fellowship training in Preventive Cardiology at VA Boston/Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and received her M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health. During this time, she was awarded two John A. Hartford Foundation Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and Training grants. She is now a staff Geriatrician at VA Boston and Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Division of Aging.

Research Interests: Understanding the bidirectional relationship between cardiovascular disease and frailty in older adults. In particular I am interested in examining the role of common medications used to prevent cardiovascular disease and their role in successful aging.

Research Project (REC): Examine the role of long-term aspirin use on frailty and self-reported functional limitation.

Training/Education: Dr. Lustgarten received a B.A in English Textual Studies from Syracuse University as well as a B.S. in Biochemistry from Queens College. He then attended the University of Texas at San Antonio where he received his Ph.D. in Physiology, and later worked as a post-doctoral associate for one year. Dr. Lustgarten then worked as a post-doctoral associate for the next 5 years at Tufts University before accepting his current position of Scientist II at Tuft’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.

Research Interests: Identification of the role of the gut microbiome and serum metabolome on lean mass and physical function in older adults.

Research Project (REC or PESC): Examining the roll of the gut microbiome and the serum metabolome on lean mass and physical function in older adults.

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