AGS Fellow Status (AGSF) is awarded to AGS members who have demonstrated a professional commitment to geriatrics, contributed to the progress of geriatrics care, and are active participants in the Society's activities. AGS Fellows join a specially recognized group of healthcare providers who are dedicated to geriatrics education, clinical care, and research, as well as to their own continuing professional development. Fellows have distinguished themselves among their colleagues, as well as in their communities and in the Society by their service. Their dedication and longstanding commitment to AGS is recognized by this mark of distinction.
Eligibility Requirements and Application - Learn more!
2025 Fellows
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Chidinma Aniemeke, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor
UT Health San Antonio
Dr. Chidinma Aniemeke is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Texas San Antonio. She received her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and completed one year of Internal Medicine residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers New Jersey Medical School). She subsequently completed her residency in Family and Community Medicine, as well as a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine, at the University of Texas San Antonio.
Board-certified in both Family Medicine and Geriatrics, Dr. Aniemeke provides comprehensive care across diverse clinical settings, including ambulatory clinics, inpatient units, and post-acute and long-term care facilities. Her academic work focuses on the education and mentorship of medical students and residents, in the field of Geriatrics.
Dr. Aniemeke also holds several leadership and administrative roles. She serves as a medical director, actively contributes to the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed), and is involved in committee work with the American Geriatrics Society (AGS).
Outside of her professional commitments, Dr. Aniemeke is married to Dr. John Aniemeke, a board-certified periodontist. They are the proud parents of three children: Miriam, Timothy, and Emmanuel.
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Mallory McClester Brown, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor
Department of Family Medicine, Division of Geriatrics
University of North Carolina
Dr. Mallory McClester Brown is a board-certified geriatrician and family physician at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She earned her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati and completed her residency in family medicine—followed by a chief residency and fellowship in geriatric medicine—at UNC. Her clinical work focuses on primary care of older adults in outpatient settings and continuing care retirement communities.
Dr. McClester Brown is deeply committed to medical education, with a particular emphasis on Age-Friendly Health Systems and interprofessional approaches to the care of older adults. She currently serves as Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC. Nationally, she is a former Geriatric Academic Career Award recipient and a Tideswell Emerging Leader in Aging Scholar. Her service includes roles with the American Geriatrics Society’s Ethnogeriatrics Committee and previously the Geriatric Minimal Competencies Committee and Work Group for Internal and Family Medicine Residents. She is a section editor for the AGS Geriatrics Review Syllabus, as well as a member of the Aquifer Geriatrics course board. She enjoys the opportunity to inspire healthcare providers to find the joy in caring for older adults.
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Sumathi Devarajan, MD, CMD, AGSF
Assistant Professor
Oregon Health and Science University
A family physician with additional training in Geriatrics, following in the footsteps of her father, with a passion for teaching and engaging older adults to achieve their highest level of function.
An international graduate who is active in curricula development for learners from all backgrounds in geriatrics training. An ardent advocate in fostering a passion in this line of work and raising awareness for this field.
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Jorge Isaac Peña Garcia, MD, FACP, AGSF
Associate Program Director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship
Physician Lead for the Emory Domiciliary Care Program
Assistant Professor
Emory University School of Medicine
Jorge Isaac Peña Garcia, MD, FACP, AGSF is originally from Ecuador, where he graduated at the top of his medical school class. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital / University of Miami.
Dr. Peña Garcia joined the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at Emory University upon completion of his fellowship. He currently serves as the Associate Program Director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, Physician Lead for the Emory Domiciliary Care Program, and Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has been recognized with multiple awards for excellence in teaching, mentorship, and patient care.
His academic interests include medical education, preventive medicine, frailty, and sarcopenia. Outside of medicine, Dr. Peña Garcia enjoys reading, traveling, and running, and values spending quality time with his wife and daughter.
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Noelle Marie Javier, MD, AGSF
Professor
Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Department of Medicine
Department of Medical Education
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York
Noelle Marie (she/her) is a Professor the Departments of Medicine, Medical Education and the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. A proud graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine Class of 2002, she completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at both Long Island College Hospital in New York and Mount Sinai Jersey City Program. She then pursued a two-year post-graduate fellowship training in both geriatric medicine and hospice and palliative medicine at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 2009. She then joined the faculty at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University in Rhode Island before joining the faculty at Mount Sinai. In her capacity as a clinician, educator, and scholar, much of her time is spent in the primary and consultative inpatient services for both subspecialties. Apart from her clinical duties, she has had opportunities to conduct research, publish, and present at local, regional, national, and international conferences such as the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), and the McGill Palliative Care Congress to name a few. Her areas of scholarly interests include but are not limited to pain management, medical education, rehabilitation in palliative care, pediatric palliative care, wound care, and approach to inclusive and affirming geriatric and palliative care for the LGBTQI+ population. She has mentored numerous trainees at various levels of medical education and has been the recipient of teaching awards.
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Lee Lindquist, MD MPH MBA CMD, AGSF
Chief of Geriatrics
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Lee Lindquist, MD, MPH, MBA, CMD is Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and George M. Eisenberg Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed her medical school, internal medicine residency, geriatric fellowship training, as well as her MPH and MBA at Northwestern University. As Chief of geriatrics she expanded Northwestern from 2 physicians in one clinic to a group of over 30 people including geriatricians, researchers, social work, and nursing - serving geriatric emergency departments, outpatient/inpatient care, post-acute network, home care program, and virtual care. Her research focuses on developing and testing innovative technology-based interventions that support older adults with Alzheimer’s dementia and their family caregivers. Since receiving an NIA K23 Career Award in 2007, she has had continuous federal funding through awarded grants as PI - including three R01s from the NIA and three PCORI awards. She is a leader of the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) at Northwestern University. She has been inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), been selected as the Outstanding Teacher of Year in Subspecialty (2010, 2014, 2016), and received the Communities of a Lifetime Award of Excellence. Dr. Lindquist has been sought as an expert for the New York Times, Harper’s, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, and national syndicated shows. She has been a longtime member of AGS, serving as a member of the AGS Health Systems Innovation and Technology Committee, JAGS editorial board, and as an AGS media representative for her JAGS published research article "Cruise Ship Care: A Proposed Alternative to Assisted Living Facilities."
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Melissa Kah Poh Loh, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor
University of Rochester
Dr. Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh is a physician-scientist and geriatric hematologist/oncologist whose clinical expertise lies in the care of older adults with cancer, with a focus on blood cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. As a practicing cancer physician, she is deeply committed to delivering evidence-based, person-centered care that honors the unique values, goals, and preferences of each patient. Dr. Loh integrates geriatric principles into oncology practice, recognizing the complexities of aging-related conditions and their impact on treatment tolerance and outcomes.
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Dr. Regina Marranzini is a physician executive and geriatrician with more than two decades of experience in internal medicine, geriatrics, and academic leadership. As a physician executive in Chief Medical Officer roles at value-based care organizations, startups, and PACE centers, she has led transformative initiatives improving quality outcomes for older adults and financial performance at institutions she has served in. Dr. Marranzini has held professorships at multiple universities, developed geriatric curricula for Florida Atlantic University’s medical school, and published research in geriatric oncology and care models for older adults. She spent over a decade developing Acute Care for Elders (ACE) units, geriatric fracture programs, and a geriatric emergency department program for a large hospital system in South Florida. She is recognized for advancing education, innovation, and compassionate care in geriatrics.
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Dr. Veronica Nwagwu MD, CWSP, AGSF is a board-certified Family physician, Geriatrician and Wound Specialist Physician (CWSP). She completed her geriatric fellowship at the prestigious University of Michigan Health System.
Dr. Veronica Nwagwu is the current National co-chair for the Wound Care Special Interest Group at the American Geriatric Society (AGS) and also served as an abstract reviewer for the American Geriatric Society!
She is on the panel for ISTAP- International Skin Tear Advisory Panel and serves as a member for WCCC Wound Care Collaborative Community.
She has authored several peer reviewed articles, educational posters and publications in the geriatric education space.
She is passionate about teaching the principles of geriatric care including geriatric wound care among medical trainees, diverse learners, nursing home providers. She is also passionate about addressing social determinants of health and barriers to accessing high quality health care among patients who live in underserved communities
She considers herself as one on a mission to promote advocacy for geriatric patients with complex wounds and ultimately get wound care education into the spotlight where it belongs.
She has won several awards including “Clinical Excellence Teaching Award” from the Geriatric fellowship program in University of Michigan and she is named a “Top Geriatrician” in Ann Arbor Michigan USA.
She enjoys volunteering for community service, cooking, dance aerobics and spending quality time with family. Her faith is an important pillar for her continued success.
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Heather Sakely, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, AGSF
Director, Ambulatory Pharmacy Services – Pittsburgh PA
Geriatric Pharmacy Faculty
UPMC Pharmacy Corporate Services
Heather Sakely, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, AGSF, serves as the Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services at UPMC and recent PGY2 Geriatric Pharmacy Residency Program Director and Geriatric Fellowship Faculty. She received her doctor of pharmacy degree from the Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy, completed a specialty pharmacy residency in Family Medicine and Faculty Development Fellowship at UPMC St. Margaret, and is board-certified in Pharmacotherapy and Geriatrics. Dr. Sakely provides care to older adults at the UPMC St. Margaret Geriatric Care Centers. She has spent the past two-decades in clinical geriatrics and post-graduate training, with a passion for elevating the interprofessional care model for older adults while implementing and expanding core programs for patients and interprofessional learners. In 2020, Dr. Sakely co-led the IHI Age-Friendly Health System – Committed to Care Excellence recognition for the UPMC St. Margaret Geriatric Care Centers. Recently appointed as Director of Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Services at UPMC, Dr. Sakely will lean on her career caring for older adults as she grows and develops ambulatory pharmacy services across the health system.
Dr. Sakely belongs to the American Society of Health System Pharmacists and is in her second term as president for the Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society – Western Division. She sits on the planning committees for the regional Clinical Update in Geriatric Medicine conference and PAGS-WD Fall Program and is a co-course director for the regional Refresher Course in Family Medicine. Dr. Sakely is an alumnus of the John A. Hartford and Atlantic Philanthropies Practice Change Leaders for Aging and Health Program. Her specific areas of interest within geriatric care include medication management across the care continuum and pharmacist practice development.
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Meera Sheffrin MD, MAS, AGSF
Clinical Associate Professor
Section of Geriatric Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health
Stanford Medicine
Dr. Meera Sheffrin is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Section of Geriatric Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health at Stanford Medicine. She earned her medical doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh followed by residency in Internal Medicine residency at Stanford. She then completed a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine and a Masters of Clinical Research at the University of California, San Francisco before joining the faculty at Stanford Medicine in 2016.
Dr. Sheffrin is the Medical Director of the Stanford Senior Care Clinic, and Medical Director of the Stanford Home-Based Senior Care program, which she founded in 2018 to provide home visits for frail, homebound older adults. Dr. Sheffrin is a skilled clinician and is passionate about caring for individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia across various settings and at the end of life. She teaches principles of geriatric medicine and home-based care to internal medicine residents and geriatric fellows.
Dr. Sheffrin serves on the national American Geriatrics Society Ethnogeriatrics Committee and on the National Society of General Internal Medicine Geriatrics Commission.
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Gina Upchurch, RPh, MPH, AGSF
Founding Executive Director, Senior PharmAssist
Gina Upchurch is the founding Executive Director of Senior PharmAssist in Durham, North Carolina, which promotes healthier living for older adults in Durham by helping them obtain and better manage needed medications and by providing tailored health education, Medicare insurance counseling, community referral, and advocacy. Gina received her pharmacy and public health degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she currently holds adjunct appointments after completing her pharmacy residency in geriatrics.
Outside of local coalition-building, Gina serves on the American Geriatrics Society Public Policy Committee, and in 2023, began serving on the MedPAC - Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare policy. She is leading an effort in North Carolina to help other communities replicate the Senior PharmAssist model and is the co-chair of the Long-term Care Services and Supports and Medicare working group for the statewide comprehensive aging plan – called All Ages, All Stages. Gina was a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana and believes that her time there was essential to her development and she returns regularly.
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Colleen M. Casey, PhD, ANP-BC, CNS, AGSF
Medical Director, Senior Health Program
Bain-Krantz Chair of Geriatrics
Providence Health & Services-Oregon
Portland, OR
Dr. Colleen Casey is Medical Director of the Senior Health program for the Oregon region at Providence Health & Services, as well as the Bain-Krantz Chair of Geriatrics. She maintains a small clinical practice in outpatient geriatrics with Providence Elderplace, which is a PACE (Program for All-Inclusive Care for Elders) program. She is a highly regarded clinician-educator and researcher in the field of geriatrics.
Dr. Casey’s role at Providence includes directing the Senior Health Portfolio with a goal to educate teams, cultivate partnerships, influence strategies, and provide innovative solutions that promote Age-Friendly care for older adults and their families served by Providence. She also leads research to identify ways to streamline and improve care of older adults, with a focus on the region’s effort to reduce fall risk for older adults. She is recognized nationally for her work and has published numerous articles in this area. She serves as an advisor to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has participated in several AGS initiatives centered around fall risk management. She has participated on the Education Committee of the Oregon Geriatrics Society and as part of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age-Friendly Health Systems initial piloting work.
In 2018, Dr. Casey co-founded the Providence Geriatric Mini-Fellowship with Dr. Marian Hodges, an innovative 4-week Age-Friendly curriculum that provides over 120 hours of education to selected Providence primary care providers (PCPs) and their interprofessional teams to learn how to improve their care of older adults. As of 2024, the Geriatric Mini-Fellowship has graduated six cohorts from the GMF, with 36 PCP graduates across Oregon in over 30 clinics who now serve as geriatric champions within their clinics.
Dr. Casey received her first undergraduate from the University of Notre Dame and her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in geriatric nursing from Oregon Health & Science University. She completed postgraduate work at the University of Washington in geriatrics. Her career in geriatrics started as a hospice CNA over 30 years ago. She and her husband have three children and live in Portland, OR.
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Ryan Z. Chippendale, MD, AGSF
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Attending Physician
Geriatrics Fellowship Program Director
Geriatrics Oncology Fellowship Program Co-Director
Core Faculty, Primary Care Training Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program
Boston Medical Center
A graduate of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Dr. Ryan Chippendale completed her Internal Medicine residency, Chief Medical Residency and 2-year Geriatric Medicine clinician-educator track fellowship at Boston Medical Center (BMC). She serves a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and is the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director and Geriatric Oncology Fellowship Program Co-director at Boston Medical Center. Dr.Chippendale provides care to vulnerable older adult patients in home, geriatrics assessment clinic and geriatrics inpatient service settings. She also serves as Core Faculty for the Primary Care Training Program and the Geriatrics Subspecialty Education Coordinator for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at BMC.
Her educational research focuses on studying the impact of the national geriatrics fellowship virtual learning platform, GERIAtrics Fellows Learning Online and Together (Geri-a-FLOAT), for which she is the co-founder and co-director. She also has a passion for creating and evaluating educational interventions around the structural and social determinants of health (SSDOH) in older adults, including building a national geriatrics fellowship health equity curriculum on the Geri-a-FLOAT platform.
She has received multiple Excellence in Teaching awards from BMC’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, the Junior Faculty Mentorship Award by the Department of Medicine, and the BMC Graduate Medical Education Program Leadership Award. She has been inducted into both the Gold Humanism Society and Boston University chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Nationally, she has served as a Tideswell Emerging Leader in Aging Scholar and is a board member for the Association of Directors of Geriatrics Academic Programs (ADGAP).
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Sarwat Jabeen, MD, AGSF
Family Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Wound Healing and Tissue Repair
Dr. Sarwat Jabeen is a board-certified physician specializing in Family Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. She obtained her medical degree from Sind Medical College in Pakistan and completed her residency in family medicine through the UT Southwestern Medical School Austin Family Medicine Program. Additionally, she has pursued advanced training with Geriatric fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and wound care fellowship at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Dr. Jabeen advocates for a holistic approach to healthcare, prioritizing the establishment of meaningful relationships and trust with her patients, ensuring they feel supported and cared for. Her areas of interest in geriatrics include healthy aging, osteoporosis, and wound care.
In her personal life, Dr. Jabeen enjoys spending quality time with her family, which includes her husband, two daughters, and her mother. She feels fortunate to have her mother nearby and to be able to care for her as she ages.
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Carolyn Kaloostian, MD, MPH, FAAFP, AGSF
Assistant Medical Director, Keck Signature Care Concierge Medicine Program at Keck Medicine of USC
Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Dr. Carolyn Kaloostian is a board-certified family physician and geriatrician practicing in Los Angeles County over 14 years. She completed her geriatric fellowship at UCLA following her family medicine residency at USC. Dr. Kaloostian earned her B.A. and B.S. from UC Riverside before pursuing an Executive Master’s in Public Health in Healthcare Management and Policy and a Global Health Certificate at UCLA. She further expanded her expertise with a Fellowship in Transforming Primary Care at Harbor-UCLA and a Fellowship in Palliative Care and Hospice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Kaloostian is a Board Member of the Los Angeles American Heart Association and actively contributes to the LA Department of Public Health’s Healthy Brain Coalition, where she is developing and implementing a Dementia Care Strategic Plan for Los Angeles County. Recognized for her leadership and advocacy in cardiovascular health, she was named the American Heart Association’s Woman of Impact for 2024.
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Aubrey L. Knight, MD, FAAFP, AGSF
Professor of Medicine and Family & Community Medicine
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Dr. Aubrey Knight is a board-certified geriatrician and family physician with clinical, education, research, and leadership experience. He is a full professor with joint appointments in the departments of Medicine and Family & Community Medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM). Dr. Knight graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed a family medicine residency at Carilion in Roanoke and a geriatric medicine fellowship at the University of Maryland.
Dr. Knight’s career has focused on medical education. He has been a family medicine residency director as well as the program director for a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship. He was the founding program director for the Carilion Geriatric Medicine fellowship program. In each of these roles, he has been an advisor, coach, and mentor to residents, fellows, and junior faculty members. In addition, he has held multiple roles at VTCSOM including Senior Dean for Student Affairs. He is currently Director of the Phase 2 curriculum. He is a co-counselor for the Delta Virginia Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and the advisor for the VTCSOM chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Dr. Knight is a past recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and was recognized by TEACH in 2018 for his commitment to Medical Education.
His clinical practice currently focuses on outpatient consultative care for persons with cognitive impairment. Over his career, Dr. Knight has been a medical director at numerous post-acute facilities. Dr. Knight has collaborated with the Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology on research related to aging and caregiving. He was a member of the ACGME Milestones 2.0 workgroup for Geriatric Medicine.
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Jessica Lee, MD, MS, AGSF
Associate Professor
Carmel Bitondo Dyer, MD, Chair in Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
Medical Director, Harris Health LBJ House Call Service
Dr. Jessica Lee received her MD and MS in Clinical Science from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, completed her Internal Medicine residency at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and finished a two-year Geriatric Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. She is currently an Associate Professor and the Carmel Bitondo Dyer, MD, Chair in Geriatric and Palliative Medicine within the Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at UTHealth Houston. She is also the Medical Director of the Harris Health LBJ House Call Service which provides primary and palliative care to homebound adults. Her research interests are in clinical interventions to increase resiliency in older adults to help them maintain their functional independence at home. She has been awarded a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging and has been the PI or Co-I on several studies evaluating frailty, technology, social determinants of health, and nutrition and exercise interventions in older adults.
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Stacie Levine MD, CMD, FAAHPM, AGSF
University of Chicago
Department of Medicine
Professor
Chief, Section of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Dr. Stacie Levine is Professor and Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the University of Chicago. She earned her medical doctorate from Rush University followed by internal medicine residency and geriatrics fellowship at Mount Sinai, NY. She then completed a research fellowship in geriatrics at University of Chicago before joining the faculty in 2002. Dr. Levine is a former geriatrics and hospice and palliative medicine fellowship program director and has served on several national committees for curriculum development in post-graduate fellowship education. She is a senior mentor and advisor for the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program and engaged in pipeline programs for aging research and age-friendly educational initiatives for community-based clinicians, organizations, and senior health centers across Chicago’s Southside. Dr. Levine has been co-leading a multi-institutional project in workforce enhancement for primary palliative care skills for interdisciplinary clinicians for 13 years. She has published on medical education and workforce engagement in geriatrics and palliative medicine, response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and opioid use disorder in nursing homes. Dr. Levine is a fellow the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine where she serves on the Board of Directors. She has been recognized for her contributions with appointments as a fellow in the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and a senior faculty scholar in the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence, and with the Francis H. Straus Mentorship Award at University of Chicago. Dr. Levine is a graduate of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) leadership program for women in medicine and a recurrent Castle Connolly and Chicago Magazine’s Top Doctor.
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Alayne D. Markland, DO, MSc, AGSF
D. Keith Barnes, M.D. and Dottie Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair in Medicine
Professor and Chief, Division of Geriatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine
Executive Director, University of Utah Center on Aging
Alayne D. Markland, DO, MSc, is a tenured Professor and holds the D. Kevin Barnes, MD and Dottie Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair in the Division of Geriatrics within the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah. In this role, she also serves as the Executive Director of the Center on Aging. At the Salt Lake City VA Health Care System, she is an investigator in the Salt Lake City Geriatric Research, Educational, and Clinical Center (GRECC). She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in lower urinary tract disorders, women’s heath, and aging, with broad expertise ranging from population-based studies, multicenter clinical trials, and implantation studies to increase access to incontinence care with the use of technology.
Dr. Markland’s overarching research goal focuses on optimizing community-based life functioning through the prevention and treatment of geriatric syndromes in older individuals with a specific focus on lower urinary tract symptoms and incontinence. Incontinence has enormous implications for personal dignity and quality of life. She serves as both PI and co-Investigator on a variety of NIH-funded, VA-funded, and AHRQ-funded research projects to enhance access to behavioral interventions, while also trying to prevent lower urinary tract symptoms across the lifespan. Dr. Markland is the Principal Investigator on a NIDDK-funded U01 grant, two NIDDK-funded R01 grants, an implementation consortium grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality/DHHS, and has a NIA K24 Mid-career Award in Aging Research entitled, “Research and Mentoring Program in Improving Access to Incontinence Care for Older Adults.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Markland has received continual NIH and VA funding, served as an ad-hoc member on the NIH and VA study sections, and published over 190 peer-reviewed publications with over 10,000 citations per Google Scholar. She brings clinical geriatric medicine expertise and 20 years of experience treating adults with lower urinary tract symptoms at university and VA-based clinics. As a clinician investigator, her research focuses on analyzing population-based studies, conducting clinical intervention research focused on behavioral and pharmacologic treatments, improving measures related to bladder and bowel symptoms, increasing access to care through the use of mobile health technology, and mentoring early-stage investigators.
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Kevin Overbeck, DO, AGSF
Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Geriatrics & Gerontology
Director, NJ Institute for Successful Aging
Dr. Kevin Overbeck presently serves as the Chair for the Department of Geriatrics & Gerontology at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine and the Director of the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging. He is the program director for the geriatric medicine fellowship program and provides direct patient care in assisted living, long term care, subacute rehabilitation and in ambulatory office visits. He is the program director for a HRSA funded Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Project committed to developing an Age-Friendly and Dementia-Friendly health system.
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Veronica Rivera, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor
Departments of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Family Medicine and Community Health, and Medical Education
Director, Martha Stewart Center for Living
Veronica Rivera, MD is an Associate Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Departments of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Family Medicine and Community Health, and Medical Education. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. She completed her family medicine residency and geriatrics fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Clinically, she provides geriatrics primary care at the Coffey Geriatrics Practice at the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai, where she also serves as Medical Director. She also sees patients at the Institute for Family Health, one of the largest federally qualified health center networks in New York State. Her interests include improving geriatrics education for primary care providers, improving geriatric primary care for underserved patients, promoting effective team-based care, and supporting efforts for a more diverse medicine workforce. She is a graduate of the Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging program and is a member of the AGS Health Systems Innovation and Technology Committee. She is also a member of the Center of Excellence for Telehealth and Aging.
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Carrie Rubenstein, MD, AGSF
Providence Swedish Medical Center - Seattle WA
Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Director, Swedish Medical Center. Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington Department of Family Medicine.
Carrie Rubenstein, MD is the director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and is part of the residency faculty at Swedish Family Medicine - First Hill. Carrie is passionate about educating physicians and healthcare teams about best practices for the care of older people. Her academic interests include interprofessional education and practice, elder abuse and mistreatment, and Age-Friendly Health Systems. Carrie grew up in New Jersey and went to the University of Michigan. Carrie completed her residency and geriatrics fellowship in Family Medicine at Swedish - First Hill. She practiced for 8 years at Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center, a community health center in Seattle’s Central District. Carrie is energized by working with residents and fellows and was delighted to return to Swedish as the director of Swedish Geriatric Medicine Fellowship in 2014. At Swedish, she also directs an interprofessional geriatrics assessment clinic and serves as a medical consultant for the King County Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Team. Outside of work, Carrie enjoys adventuring with her daughter Zelda and her husband Justin.
2024 Fellows
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Carl J. “Christian” Bergman, MD, CMD, FACP, AGSF
Associate Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Medical Director, Nursing Facility Attending Service
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Carl J. “Christian” Bergman, MD, CMD is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. He attended medical school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA and completed his internal medicine residency and geriatric medicine fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA where he specialized in post-acute and long-term care medicine. His clinical practice focuses on post-acute and long-term care medicine with an active and engaged medical directorship model. He is associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA where he is focusing on improving transitions of care throughout the unique, integrated VCU Health System along the entire senior care continuum. He is actively involved in teaching medical students, residents, and geriatric fellows. At AGS, he is past chair of the Residents Section, past chair of the Fellows-In-Training Section, an active member of the Health Systems Innovations & Technology Committee, an external guideline reviewer for AGS, and a past contributor to HealthinAging.org. At PALTmed, he serves on the Board of Director as Chair of the House of Delegates. He is past chair of the State Based Policy and Advocacy Subcommittee and past chair of the Transitions of Care subcommittee. He resides in Richmond, VA with his wife and 2 kids.
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Marai Torrella Carney, MD, MACP, AGSF
Chief, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Hofstra Northwell, NHPP Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at New Hyde Park
Dr. Maria Torroella Carney is a board-certified internist, geriatrician, and palliative care physician with clinical, research, administrative, and public health leadership experience. She has been at Northwell Health since 2012 and is currently Medical Director for Continuing Care and Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. She is Professor of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra / Northwell.
Dr. Carney trained in Internal Medicine at Georgetown School of Medicine and The New York Hospital - Weill/Cornell Medical Center and completed a research-oriented fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She served as commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Health on Long Island, New York serving a population of 1.3 million residents from 2008-2011.
She has dedicated her career to promoting longevity, healthy aging, and high-quality care for older adults and those with serious illness. She was selected as a 2022-2023 Health and Aging Policy Fellow, a national leadership program. In May 2024, The Aging Revolution, a book co-authored with Michael Dowling and Charles Kenney was published.
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Teresa DeLellis, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, AGSF
Chair of Pharmacy Practice, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Geriatric Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Manchester University, College of Health Professions, Nursing
Teresa M. DeLellis, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, AGSF, is a distinguished leader, educator, and clinician in the field of geriatrics. As Chair of Pharmacy Practice and Associate Professor at Manchester University, she focuses on advancing healthcare for older adults through teaching, research, and service. Dr. DeLellis has developed innovative curricula in geriatric pharmacotherapy, transitions of care, and patient safety across multiple health professions, shaping future healthcare providers.
Her research interests center around models of care and pharmacotherapy for older adults, intersecting with transitions of care, polypharmacy, and pharmacogenomics. Dr. DeLellis has also led impactful initiatives to improve healthcare delivery, such as co-developing an early Level 1 geriatric emergency department accreditation and spearheading initiatives to reduce polypharmacy and improve care transitions.
Nationally, Dr. DeLellis serves on key committees for the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), including the Quality & Performance Measurement Committee, and has co-chaired the AGS Pharmacy Practice Section. Her advocacy includes consulting on quality improvement models to enhance medication safety for several health systems across the country through QIN/QIO networks.
Dr. DeLellis’s service extends into her community, where she collaborates with local organizations on health education initiatives, promoting safe medication use and fall prevention among older adults. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Indiana Geriatrics Society and has held leadership roles in community programs focused on improving transitions of care and enhancing patient outcomes. Recognized with numerous teaching, service, and clinical leadership awards, Dr. DeLellis remains committed to improving geriatric healthcare through scholarship and practice.
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Jennifer C. Drost, DO, MPH, AGSF
Medical Director, SummaHealth
Associate Program Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, Associate Professor, Section Chief for Geriatrics, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)
Dr. Jennifer Drost serves as the Medical Director for Geriatrics at Summa Health in Akron Ohio. She received her medical degree from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Drost is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. She serves as the Associate Program Director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and is an Associate Professor at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) where she is also the Section Chief for Geriatrics. She is a co-director for the HRSA-funded NEOMED Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. Throughout her practice, she focuses on ensuring patient centered care through focusing on interprofessional communication and collaboration across the care continuum for older adults. Dr. Drost is a member of the AGS Public Education Committee and is the treasurer for the Ohio AGS Chapter. In the community, she is privileged to serve as the Chief Medical Officer on the Board of Directors for the Ohio 10A Area Agency on Aging, Direction Home and is part of the Summit County Age Friendly Coordinating Council.
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Rex Alvin Paulino, MD, AGSF
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Dr. Paulino is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine with the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He completed his 2-year Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2017 followed by a Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2018.
Dr. Paulino is a clinician-educator and has been involved in undergraduate and graduate medical education since starting his tenure at UTHealth. He serves as the Associate Program Director for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at UTHealth. Dr. Paulino is a member of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Chronic Care Test Material Development Committee (TMDC) and has been an item writer for high-yield geriatric and palliative care topics since 2021. He will serve as Co-Chair for the Chronic Care TMDC starting in 2025. Dr. Paulino is passionate about serious illness communication and developed the communication curriculum for the UTHealth Geriatric and Palliative Medicine fellow. Since its inception, the curriculum has expanded to train 4th-year medical students and Internal Medicine residents. He is the Co-Director for the Geriatric and Palliative Medicine Scholarly Concentration Program which identifies learners with a strong interest in geriatrics and palliative care during the earlier stages of their careers. Dr. Paulino is a member of the American Geriatrics Society Ethnogeriatrics Committee, which ensures that every older American receives the highest quality of care by incorporating a culturally sensitive approach to improve equitable healthcare delivery. Outside of work, he travels with his wife and son, explores as an avid photographer, and volunteers his time while cosplaying for the 501st Legion giving “hugs and high fives” to fans of Star Wars.
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Elizabeth Anne Mohan, MD, AGSF
Geriatrics and Internal Medicine Department at Intermed P.A.
Portland Maine
Dr. Elizabeth Mohan is a board-certified family medicine physician, geriatrician, and lifestyle medicine diplomate. She attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia PA, and completed her family medicine residency at UPMC St. Margaret Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program at UPMC St Margaret Hospital, Pittsburgh PA, followed by the St. Margaret Hospital Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program UPMC St. Margaret Hospital, Pittsburgh PA. She then continued her career at UPMC St Margaret Hospital working as the Associate Program Director of the Geriatric Fellowship as well as Medical Director of the ambulatory UPMC St Margaret Geriatric Care Center. As medical director, she achieved the first Age Friendly Health System recognition in the region for the ambulatory care centers. She was core faculty and clinical educator for the family medicine geriatric teaching for students, residents, and fellows. She received the “Top 40 under 40” award by the Pennsylvania Medical Society. She was a board member for the Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society Western Division during her time in Pittsburgh. In 2023, she relocated to Portland Maine and is the first Geriatrician to practice in the large multi-specialty group. She is dedicated to high quality primary care to the geriatric outpatient population.
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Josette Rivera, MD, AGSF
Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Josette Rivera, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and clinician educator in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She provides primary and palliative care to homebound older adults through the UCSF Care at Home program. Her educational and research endeavors focus on interprofessional education and practice in the context of caring for older adults. Dr. Rivera is a former HRSA Geriatrics Academic Career Awardee with leadership roles in the HRSA-funded Northern California Geriatric Education Center (2012-15), co-PI of the UCSF D. W. Reynolds Foundation Next Steps grant (2013-17), co-Director of the UCSF School of Medicine Life Stages course (2017-2022), PI of the UCSF Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (2019-2024), co-lead of the UCSF School of Medicine Interprofessional Education Program (2013-present), and Education Lead of the CA state-funded Dementia Care Aware initiative (2022-present), among others.
Dr. Rivera is renowned for her development of novel interprofessional education curricula, assessment tools, and faculty development programs to train health professionals and trainees to provide optimal interprofessional care for older adults. She is the recipient of local and national teaching awards and founded and co-chairs the American Geriatrics Society Special Interest Group in Interprofessional Education and Practice.
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Lavern A. Wright, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine (UConn)
Dr. Lavern Wright is a fellowship-trained and board-certified geriatrician and clinician-educator in the UConn Center on Aging. She is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine (UConn). Her academic time is split between direct patient care and teaching medical students, residents, allied health trainees, and faculty. She cares for patients at the UConn Geriatrics Center for Healthy Aging clinic and John Dempsey Hospital (JDH). Dr. Wright graduated from the UConn medical school, residency in internal medicine and fellowship in geriatric medicine. She subsequently joined the UConn faculty after graduating from fellowship. She developed and implemented an evidence-based delirium protocol that is used for older hospitalized patients at JDH with delirium or at risk for delirium. Currently she is actively involved in working towards Age-Friendly Health Systems Recognition at UConn. Dr. Wright is the Assistant Medical Director of the medical student Clinical Skills Assessment Program and serves on the Academic Advancement Committee, and recently joined the American Geriatrics Society Public Education Committee. She is committed to engaging students, residents and fellows, through different teaching methods, to develop life-long geriatric medicine clinical skills. She loves her patients, teaching history and physical exams, and solving complex problems for older adults. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with my family and friends and is very involved in her church.
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Esther Oh, MD, PhD, AGSF
Sarah Miller Coulson Human Aging Project Scholar
Immediate Past President, the American Delirium Society
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology,
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences & Neuropathology
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Esther Oh, MD, PhD, Sarah Miller Coulson Human Aging Project Scholar, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Department of Medicine with appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She also has appointments in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and in the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health. She is currently the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center, an investigator in the Richman Family Precision Medicine Center of Excellence in Alzheimer’s disease, and co-director of the Alzheimer’s disease core of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory. She is also the Immediate Past President of the American Delirium Society.
Dr. Oh’s overarching clinical and research interests are in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its interrelationship with delirium. Her work is anchored in building innovative research communities to spur non-siloed, horizontal discussion and networking at all levels and stages of the research and innovation process. Her expertise allows her to link efforts across biology of healthy aging, clinical care, education, and health systems spectrum.
Dr. Oh’s work includes the development of fluid and biometric biomarkers for early detection of AD and to predict postoperative delirium, delirium and cognitive changes after surgery; long-term cognitive changes associated with COVID-19; sensory changes associated with AD.
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Sherry A. Greenberg, PhD, RN, GNP-BC, FGSA, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, AGSF
Professor
Monmouth University, Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing and Health Studies
Dr. Sherry Greenberg is Professor and Hess Endowed Chair in Nursing Education at Monmouth University, Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing and Health Studies. Dr. Greenberg is a nurse practitioner faculty member and advisory group member on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative. Dr. Greenberg is the New Jersey Oral Health Education Champion through the 100 Million Mouths Campaign, an initiative to integrate oral health into primary care curricula to bridge gaps in oral health education and access. Dr. Greenberg is Past President of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association. She is a member of the Gerontology & Geriatrics Education Editorial Board and a peer reviewer for multiple journals. Dr. Greenberg is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Geriatrics Society, Gerontological Society of America, National Academies of Practice, and New York Academy of Medicine, as well as Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing through the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. Dr. Greenberg earned her academic nursing degrees, Baccalaureate, Masters, and PhD, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and was a Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar. Dr. Greenberg has worked as a certified gerontological nurse practitioner in acute, long-term care, and outpatient primary care practices and has taught at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral nursing levels.
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Louise Walter, MD, AGSF
Professor of Medicine
Helen Hoh Wu and Laurene Wu McClain Professor of Geriatrics Chief, Division of Geriatrics
University of California, San Francisco
Section Chief, Geriatrics, Palliative and Extended Care
San Francisco VA Healthcare System
Louise C. Walter, MD is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics and Section Chief of San Francisco VA Health Care System Geriatrics, Palliative and Extended Care. Dr. Walter is a clinician-researcher who has developed novel research methods to demonstrate the importance of life expectancy rather than age in determining the harms and benefits of cancer screening in older persons. This approach is now reflected in virtually all major cancer screening guidelines and her research has been recognized with national awards, including the 2009 AGS Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award. She also has made significant contributions to the field of Geriatrics as a mentor and division chief. She is committed to AGS, serving on the AGS Research Committee and as Chair of Preventive Medicine Abstract Reviews/Poster Judge for 10 years. She also has served as a mentor for the AGS One-on-One Mentoring Program since 2006. She has partnered with AGS for the past 9 years as Associate Director of the Tideswell/AGS/ADGAP Emerging Leaders in Aging Program and continues to give talks and workshops at AGS Annual Meetings. Dr. Walter is passionate about training and mentoring the next generation of health care professionals to conduct high-impact research, teaching and clinical care focused on improving the health and well-being of older persons.
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Heather Schickedanz, MD, AGSF
Chair, Department of Family Medicine Harbor-UCLA
Co-Chair, LA County Health Agency Geriatrics Workgroup
Associate Professor, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Lomita Family Health Center (Bay Harbor Medical Building)
Dr. Heather Bennett Schickedanz is a family physician-geriatrician practicing in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services safety-net. Dr. Schickedanz completed her Geriatrics Fellowship at UCSF-VAMC in 2014; Family Medicine Residency at UCSF-SFGH in 2013; MD at UCSF in 2010; and her BA at UC Berkeley in 2002. She provides direct and supervising care for marginalized persons of all ages and in all settings. As Associate Professor of Health Sciences at UCLA, she teaches medical students, residents, and fellows team-based family-centered to address the social drivers of health. In her role as Chair, she oversees and supports faculty and staff in numerous clinical-community programs and scholarly projects whose focus is to promote health equity and racial justice. Her academic focus is culturally-responsive care of older adults, advance care planning, and screening, diagnosis and treatment of those living with dementia and their caregivers.