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For Immediate Release
May 13, 2005

For Further Information:
Mary Anne Shannon
(212) 308-1414 x301

New York, NY - The American Geriatrics Society, The John A. Hartford Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging have awarded nearly $2.1 million to support research to improve health care for the rapidly growing population of older adults.

The awards, which went to 15 noted physician-researchers, address a critical need for physicians, researchers, and medical specialists and academics with expertise in geriatrics, and to further essential geriatrics research. There are fewer than 7,000 certified geriatricians nationwide -- just half of the estimated current need - and only 62 geriatrics fellows were in their second or subsequent years of training in research, nationwide, in 2003. The marked shortage of clinicians and researchers is expected to worsen dramatically in the next 25 years. The youngest of the nation's 76 million baby boomers will turn 65 by 2030, when seniors will make up 20 percent of the population.

"It's with the help of talented physician-researchers such as the winners of these awards that we hope to improve care for our increasing population of older adults, and to pursue much-needed research in elder health care," said Meghan Gerety, MD, Board Chair of the American Geriatrics Society and the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging; Associate Chief of Staff, South Texas Veterans Health Care System; and Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Ten recipients won the Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars Awards, which seek to help ameliorate the shortage of academicians in surgical and other medical specialties who have a special interest in, and knowledge of, the care of older adults. In each of these specialties, the average age of patients is rising rapidly. Administered by the American Geriatrics Society, the awards are supported by grants from The John A. Hartford Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

Over the course of two years, each Jahnigen scholar receives $150,000 with institutions providing an additional $50,000 in matching support. The award helps promising academic specialists start and sustain careers in both education and research that are focused on aging issues. The Jahnigen awards go to faculty in the specialties of: anesthesiology, emergency medicine, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, thoracic surgery, and urology. This year's winners proposed and will pursue research investigating, among other things: treatment of age-related voice disorders, pain management for older Emergency Department patients, and the effect of frailty on surgical outcomes. For a list of winners and their research focus, see below.

Four physician-researchers received Hartford Geriatrics Health Outcomes Research Scholars Awards, sponsored and funded by the American Geriatrics Society's Foundation for Health in Aging and The John A. Hartford Foundation. The awards support physician-scientists committed to improving the health care of older adults while they make the critical transition from junior faculty to independent researcher.

Over two years, Hartford Outcomes Award winners receive $130,000 in salary and research support. This year's winners will conduct research investigating a range of topics, including ways of measuring mobility in older patients during hospitalization, and the effect of quality of care on functional decline and mortality among older adults. A list of recipients and their proposed research appears below.

The T. Franklin Williams Research Scholars Award went to Lona Mody, MD, of the University of Michigan, for research into the implications of antimicrobial resistance in nursing homes. The award goes to academic geriatricians conducting research applicable to care provided by sub-specialists in internal medicine. Winners receive $75,000 over two years. Intended to help medical academics begin and sustain careers in research and education, the award is administered by the American Geriatrics Society's Foundation for Health in Aging in collaboration with the Association for Subspecialty Professors. It is supported by a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The 2005 Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars Awards winners (listed by specialty) are:

Anesthesiology
Lisa Crossley, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
For "Role of CREB and FOXO in the Responses of Neutrophils in Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury"

Emergency Medicine
Ula Hwang, MD, MPH, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Geriatrics, New York, NY
For "Geriatric Pain Management in the Emergency Department (ED) Setting"

General Surgery
Paul Gagne, MD, of NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY
For "The Effect of Aging on Extracellular Matrix Regulation of Ischemic Limb Revascularization"

Martin Makary, MD, of Johns Hopkins University/Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD For "Frailty as a Predictor of Surgical Outcome"

Nancy D. Perrier, MD, FACS, UT/MD of Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX For "The Effects of Parathyroidectomy on Cognition and Function in the Elderly"

Orthopedic Surgery
Simon Mears, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins/Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
For "Pelvic Fractures in the Elderly: Biomechanics and Sacroplasty"

Otolaryngology
Michael M. Johns, MD, of Emory Voice Center at Emory Crawford Long Hospital, Atlanta, GA
For "Efficacy of Treatment for Age-Related Dysphonia"

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Jeffrey J. Ericksen, MD, of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
For "Spine Stability Muscle Function in Older Women: Role of Gynecological History"

Urology
John A. Taylor, III, MD, of University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT
For "Pathogenesis of Chronic Urinary Retention"

Edward M. Uchio, MD, of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
For "Aging Effects on the VHL Tumor Suppressor Pathway in the Development of Renal Carcinoma"

The 2005 Hartford Geriatrics Health Outcomes Research Scholars Award Winners are:

Cynthia Brown, MD, of University of Alabama at Birmingham
For "Validation of Two Methods to Measure Mobility during Hospitalization"

Lillian Chiang, MD, of University of California, Los Angeles
For "Does Better Overall Quality of Care of Older Ambulatory Care Patients Result in Decreased Mortality and Functional Decline?"

Margaret Fang, MD, MPH, of University of California, San Francisco
For "Use and Outcomes of Warfarin for Older Adults with Atrial Fibrillation"

Nathan Goldstein, MD of Mount Sinai Medical Center
For "Decision Making in Older Patients with Implantable Defibrillators"

The 2005 T. Franklin Williams Research Scholar Award Winner is:

Lona Mody, MD, of the University of Michigan
For "Antimicrobial Resistance In Nursing Homes: Implications For Indwelling Device Use"

About AGS
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (http://www.americangeriatrics.org) is a nationwide, not-for-profit association of geriatrics health care professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence and quality of life of all older people. The Society supports this mission through activities in clinical practice, professional and public education, research and public policy. With an active membership of over 6,700 health care professionals, the Society has become a pivotal force in shaping attitudes, policies and practices in geriatric medicine. The American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting, the premier scientific meeting for geriatrics health care providers, educators, and researchers, began May 11 and runs through May 15.