Week In Review

Earlier this week, AGS released a new framework to assist clinicians to safely prescribe obesity medications in older adults. Organized around a series of cases, the framework offers a practical approach to prescribing obesity medications, including GLP-1 medications, that act through gut-derived hormonal pathways to older adults. While these medications offer promising benefits for weight management, glycemic control, and other health conditions, older adults are under-represented in clinical trials. The AGS framework emphasizes that clinicians should carefully consider age-related factors such as sarcopenia and frailty, risk of lean muscle loss, malnutrition, and dehydration.

This new paper, developed by the AGS Healthy Aging Special Interest Group, discusses key considerations for the use of obesity medications in older adults and explores how to apply the Geriatrics 5Ms Framework (Mind, Mobility, Medications, Multicomplexity, and Matters Most) to incretin therapy in older adults. This paper has been published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and can be found at https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.70769. 

Earlier this week, AGS published a report, “The AGS Older Adults Vaccine Initiative: Findings from Seven Participating Health Systems” (https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.70770 ) in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) that presents the outcome of its Older Adults Vaccine (AGS OAV) Initiative. Along with demonstrating modest improvements in influenza and COVID-19 vaccination rates within the context of an overall decrease in national vaccination rates, the report in JAGS describes how the seven health systems who partnered with the AGS on this project: (1) implemented multiple strategies to increase vaccination rates; (2) tailored strategies to the needs of their system; and (3) layered in overlapping interventions strategies and interventions. 

Visit vaccines.agscocare.org, for access to the AGS online educational curriculum on vaccines in older adults, accompanying educational and clinical tools along with a portfolio of public education resources to help older adults and caregivers make informed decisions about recommended vaccines.

The AGS Older Adults Vaccine Initiative is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award to the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. In this initiative, AGS leverages existing resources and ongoing investments in content and technology.

Through a generous contribution made in memory of Professor Tzvi Dwolatzky, two hospital sites will receive financial support to establish new AGS CoCare^®: Hospital Elder Life Programs (HELP). Each selected hospital will receive funds to cover half of the AGS CoCare^®: HELP implementation subscription costs. Learn more and apply here. Applications are due December 20, 2026. 

This funding opportunity honors the legacy of Professor Tzvi Dwolatzky, a dedicated member of the HELP community and passionate advocate for improving care for older adults. As the leader of the HELP program at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel, Professor Dwolatzky was deeply committed to advancing high-quality, age-friendly hospital care.

Interested in learning more about AGS CoCare^®: HELP? Visit help.agscocare.org or contact Deena Sandos at dsandos@americangeriatrics.org

Eleven of the country’s leading health professionals were recognized for their deep commitment to advancing high-quality, person-centered care by achieving fellowship status with the AGS. These AGS fellows include:

• Alicia I. Arbaje, MD, MPH, PhD, FACP, AGSF
• Grace Ingan Chen, MD, FACP, AGSF
• Christine Eisenhower, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCGP, AGSF
• Anna Goroncy, MD, Med, AGSF,
• Aruna V. Josyula, MD, MPH, CMD, AGSF
• Thomas Lawrence, MD, CMD, AGSF
• Darlene Moyer, MD, FAAFP, AGSF
• Charles 'Chuck' T. Pu, MD, FACP, AGSF
• Vanessa Rodriguez, MD, AGSF
• Mandi Sehgal, MD, AGSF
• Megan Young, MD, AGSF

Click here to read the latest class's bios and to learn more about fellowship at the AGS.

The following AGS Section and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings are coming up soon. Save the date and be sure to attend these meetings in November!

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Climate Collaborative, of which AGS is a participating organization, is conducting a survey to better understand how health care organizations are developing or implementing interventions to protect health and improve patient outcomes from climate-related health risks, such as extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and severe storms. Survey responses will inform the development of NAM resources to support health systems and health care professionals in adopting climate-resilient care interventions. It takes 15 minutes to complete and responses are requested by Friday, November 13. Click here to take the survey. 

The AGS Research Committee invites you to help shape the outcome of the 2027 Annual Meeting by volunteering to review research abstracts in your area of expertise! The success of the peer review process depends on the willingness of qualified reviewers to share their time and expertise. Your experience and knowledge will enable you to provide helpful advice to the Research Committee on the merits of abstracts and constructive comments to submitters that can strengthen their future submissions.

To become an Abstract Reviewer, you must meet the criteria listed below, submit a biosketch (NIH- style, 5 pages maximum) and complete the short application form on this link to identify your areas of expertise and the abstract submission category you wish to review. Applications due November 20th!

Abstract Reviewer Criteria:  

• must have first-authored two or more peer-reviewed original manuscripts
• must have advanced degree training (MD, PhD, MPH, PharmD, MS, etc.) or equivalent non-clinical health care degree

If you are accepted as an abstract reviewer, you will be asked to review approximately 40 abstracts in the category (s) noted on your application. The review process will begin December 7, 2026, and all reviews must be completed by January 7, 2027.  We are hopeful that you are available to work with us on this very important part of our meeting.

The NIA IMPACT Collaboratory recently announced the 2026 Awardees for their Pilot Grants Program and Demonstration Projects Program.

Congratulations to 2026 Pilot Grant Program Awardees: Sarah Holmes, PhD, MSW and Anne Walling, MD, PhD and 2026 Demonstration Project Program Awardees: Katy Abbott, PhD and John N. Mafi, MD, MPH.

For more information on the 2026 Pilot Grant Program awardees, please click here. To learn more about the 2026 Demonstration Project Program Awardees, please click here.

Don't miss the latest wave of Geri-a-FLOAT (Geriatrics Fellows Learning Online And Together) for their latest webinar, Trauma-informed Care Considerations for Older Adults, on Thursday, November 5, at 3 pm ET/12 pm PT, featuring internationally recognized scholar in trauma-informed care Dr. Megan R. Gerber of Albany Medical College. Dr. Gerber has more than two decades of experience advancing research, education, and implementation strategies to improve care for individuals affected by trauma and interpersonal violence. Her work has helped shape clinical practice, medical education, and national policy, and she is the editor of Trauma-Informed Healthcare Approaches: A Guide for Primary Care. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a leading expert about trauma-informed approaches to caring for older adults.

Visit the Geri-a-FLOAT website to view the full schedule of future sessions.

The AGS Opportunities for Investigators resource serves as a central location for geriatrics and aging-related opportunities such as grant funding, presentation or publication submissions, travel stipends for scholarly meetings, networking events, comment periods, and in-person or virtual meetings and webinars. A few upcoming opportunities we'd like to include are:

• Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School are accepting applications for their Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship (T32) Program through November 17th. The postdoctoral fellowship program will address the need for strengthening and diversifying the pipeline for well-trained clinician investigators across all care settings.  
   
• The VA is accepting resident physician applications for their Pilot Program on Graduate Medical Education and Residency through November 30th. 
   
• In collaboration with the NEXT STEPs Network and the Long-Term Care Data Cooperative, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease and AD-Related Dementias Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory is now accepting applications for the 2026 Real World Data Scholars Program through December 3rd.  
   
• UNC-Chapel Hill Medical Students Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) 2027 Summer Program applications are open to early-stage medical and osteopathic students through January 18th, 2027.

The MyAGSOnline Events Calendar is a valuable resource to discover and register for upcoming events, webinars, and other opportunities. Upcoming events we'd like to highlight include:

• The Alabama A&M University Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) will be virtually holding the 2026 Global Research Showcase on Aging and Innovation on Friday, November 13th for undergraduate students, graduate students, and early-career faculty. The showcase will provide a platform for presenters to share research and other scholarly work focused on advancing aging-related knowledge and improving the lives of older adults.

Have an opportunity or event you'd like to see listed? Email the details to Jennifer Fisher at jfisher@americangeriatrics.org