Amy Kind, MD, PhD
The AGS and AGS Health in Aging Foundation today announced that Amy Kind, MD, PhD, one of few physicians in the U.S. with doctoral training in population health, will be honored with the 2019 Thomas and Catherine Yoshikawa Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Clinical Investigation. At the AGS 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS19; May 2-4 in Portland, Ore.), Dr. Kind will deliver a marquee presentation on the social determinants of health with an eye toward reorienting research, policy, and clinical practice to broader systemic factors that shape what it means to age.
“In geriatrics, age is more than a number. It is a complex story of many factors that shape who we are as we age,” said Laurie G. Jacobs, MD, AGSF, AGS President. “Dr. Kind brings to the AGS and to #AGS19 a unique appreciation for what it means ‘to grow older,’ and how appreciating the role of social determinants in that process can help to catalyze real and lasting change in our care.”
Trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard, and geriatric medicine at the University of Wisconsin (UW), Dr. Kind’s clinical work caring for older adults prompted a deeper interest in population health science and the importance of improving “health equity,” the scientific term for variations in the care and well-being across different groups. Dr. Kind elected to pursue doctoral studies on the topic with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, honing an even greater focus on population health when addressing memory disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. Today, Dr. Kind leads an active research lab not only innovating the assessment of health disparities but also poised to translate those findings into improved care for communities still underserved by research and medicine.
Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Kind developed the “Neighborhood Atlas,” a first-of-its-kind neighborhood map that breaks down socioeconomic factors for every neighborhood in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. Touted by the National Institutes of Health and profiled in the New England Journal of Medicine among other venues, the Atlas allows clinicians, public health professionals, and even city planners to assess socioeconomic status based on the complex interplay of income, education, employment, and housing quality. The Atlas also speaks to Dr. Kind’s growing expertise in why these factors can, should, and must be studied hand-in-hand with innovations shaping medicine and care for America’s growing older adult population.
“Neighborhood disadvantage impacts the health of older adults in key and wide-ranging ways,” summarized Dr. Kind. “Our team’s multi-disciplinary research has supported the importance of neighborhood in health and care, particularly via examination of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. We have also seen the power of harnessing data democratization for catalyzing real-world change. I’m excited to share this work at #AGS19.”
In addition to her research duties at UW, Dr. Kind continues to serve older adults and caregivers, many in communities forming the backbone of her scholarship. Dr. Kind is Director of the Coordinated Transitional Care Program at the Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) in the William S. Middleton VA Hospital, Madison, Wisc., for example, where she also serves as Director of the Dementia and Cognitive Clare Clinic and Attending Physician for the Geriatric Inpatient Consult Service.
Announced at the 2016 AGS Annual Scientific Meeting and supported for 16 years thanks to generous contributions to the AGS Health in Aging Foundation, the Yoshikawa Award recognizes the research accomplishments of mid-career clinician-investigators directly involved in the care of older adults. It is one of several honors conferred by the AGS at its Annual Scientific Meeting.
Past Recipients of the Thomas and Catherine Yoshikawa Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award:
2018 Heather Whitson, MD, MHS
2017 Sei Lee, MD, MAS
2016 Mara Schonberg, MD, MPH
2015 Rebecca Sudore, MD
2014 XinQi Dong, MD, MPH
2013 Cynthia J. Brown, MD, MSPH
2012 Malaz A. Boustani, MD, MPH
2011 Catherine A. Sarkisian, MD, MSPH
2010 Cynthia M. Boyd, MD, MPH
2009 Louise C. Walter, MD
2008 R. Sean Morrison, MD
2007 Eric A. Coleman, MD, MPH
2006 David J. Cassaret, MD, MS
2005 Joe Verghese, MBBS, MS
2004 Terri R. Fried, MD
2003 Edward Marcantonio, MD, Boston, MA
2002 James T. Pacala, MD, Minneapolis, MN
2001 Thomas M. Gill, MD, New Haven, CT
2001 Greg A. Sachs, MD, Chicago, IL
2000 Elizabeth Capezuti, PhD, RN
1999 Mark A. Supiano, MD
1998 Sharon K. Inouye, MD
1992 Mary Tinetti, MD
1991 Larry Rubenstein, MD, MPH