American Geriatrics Society Honors Cynthia Brown, MD, MSPH, with 2013 Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award
April 8th, 2013
NEW YORK — The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) will present Cynthia J. Brown, MD, MSPH, with the 2013 Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award for her research and development in the area of low mobility among older adults during hospitalization. This award recognizes achievement in clinical research addressing healthcare problems of older adults by an investigator who is actively involved in direct patient care. The award takes into consideration independence of thought and originality in research. Dr. Brown, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Geriatric Medicine Section at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, will receive the award on Saturday, May 4, 2013, during AGS Annual Scientific Meeting, near Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Brown’s novel research in mobility began at Yale University where she explored the adverse outcomes associated with bed rest. Before this study, the only available data on low mobility came from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which examined bed rest in astronauts. This research earned Dr. Brown the Gerontological Society of America’s Clinical Medicine Person-in-Training Award in 2002.
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Brown has continued her research on low mobility and recently completed a randomized clinical trial exploring the impact of a hospital mobility program that showed a significant improvement in community mobility after hospitalization for patients who received the program compared to usual care. Her study demonstrated that older adults spend, on average, 83% of their hospital stay lying in bed, and less than 43 minutes per day standing and walking, despite their ability to walk pre-admission. This was the first study to specifically detail the proportion of time spent lying, sitting, standing, or walking in a cohort of hospitalized older patients. In 2007, Dr. Brown was awarded a Merck/AGS New Investigator award for her research.
“Dr. Brown is a hardworking, passionate, and inquisitive clinical investigator,” said Mary Tinetti, MD, the Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine and Section Chief of Geriatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. “Her work is innovative and of critical importance to the thousands of older adults who are hospitalized each year.”
In addition to her pioneering research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Brown is also the Medical Director of the Birmingham Veterans Affairs’ Fall Prevention and Mobility Clinic. In this role, she provides patient care and conducts program evaluation and clinical outcomes research. Dr. Brown has been awarded numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including two VA Career Development Awards and a VA Merit Award.
Dr. Brown was appointed to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society editorial board in 2010 and was named one of the seven top reviewers for this journal in 2012.
About the American Geriatrics Society
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a not-for-profit organization of over 6,000 health professionals devoted to improving the health, independence and quality of life of all older people. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policy makers and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy.
