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. You can view a listing of all current AGS Fellows here.
Eligibility Requirements and Application - Learn more!
2024 Fellows
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2023 Fellows
Neela K. Patel, MD, MPH, CMD, FAAFP, AGSF
Associate Professor, Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Distinguished Chair in Geriatrics and Community Senior Care
Chief, Division of Geriatrics & Supportive Care, UT Health San Antonio, Family & Community Medicine Glenn and Ann Biggs Distinguished Chair in Alzheimer’s Patient Care, Outreach Recruitment and Engagement (ORE) Core Director
Neela K. Patel, MD, MPH, CMD, AGSF, FAAFP is an accomplished academic physician in geriatrics and supportive care serving as an Associate Professor with Tenure and Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Supportive Care in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UT Health. She also holds the pivotal role of Outreach Recruitment and Engagement Core Director at the South Texas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (South Texas ADRC). Her significant contributions include the development of the innovative CARINOS model of care, seamlessly integrating care for seriously ill older adults into primary care settings. This model has been recognized and published as a book chapter in Geriatrics Models of Care, as well as presented at an invited roundtable workshop by the National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine. As an Academy of Educational Scholars Fellow, she has developed the GERIATRICS education tool to teach interdisciplinary learners and integrate geriatric insights, irrespective of the specialty of service. Beyond these roles, she actively engages with the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) as a mentor, abstract reviewer, and a member of the Health Systems Innovation - Economics and Technology Committee. She is also a Visiting Professor at two prestigious universities in India, recognized for her work in training trainers to manage behaviors in patients with dementia and supporting caregivers. Her influence as a leader in the care of older adults extends internationally, nationally, regionally, and within UT Health. Dr. Neela K. Patel is committed to advancing geriatrics and healthcare through education, research, and innovative care models and she looks forward to making a positive impact in the field and beyond.
Megan Huisingh-Scheetz, MD MPH
Associate Professor
Associate Director, Aging Research Program
Co-Director of the Successful Aging and Frailty Evaluation Clinic
Section of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
University of Chicago
Dr. Huisingh-Scheetz is a geriatrician physician scientist. She has dedicated her career to the advancement of frailty implementation science and to understanding the role of technology in augmenting frailty assessment and management. Her research targets two areas of technology: accelerometry and voice-activated assistant devices. She relates free-living accelerometry patterns to frailty, physical function, disability, inflammation, social engagement, and cognition. As a clinician, she helped establish a novel frailty evaluation clinic in 2011, the Successful Aging and Frailty Evaluation™ (SAFE) clinic, in which she and others assess and manage frailty in all referred patients and support their caregivers. She subsequently developed a new technology-based program called “EngAGE” that leverages a voice-activate assistant to deliver long-term exercise and socialization support to frail adults while empowering their caregivers, a project conducted with partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago and Orbita, Inc. She is currently leading a randomized-controlled trial testing EngAGE’s efficacy on physical and social function among multimorbid, homebound, African-American older adults in Chicagoland (P50MD017349-01, 8199). Her work benefits from team science including collaborations with experts in computational data science, physical therapy, advanced statistical modeling, computer science, social science, medical and surgical subspecialties, basic science, kinesiology and business.
Cassandra Vonnes DNP, GNP-BC, APRN, GS-C, AOCNP, EBP-C, CPHQ, FAHA, AGSF
Geriatric Oncology, NICHE Coordinator, Moffitt Cancer Center, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing
Dr. Vonnes’ 30-year NP experiences include acute care and outpatient cardiovascular medicine and geriatric oncology. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Heart Association for her contributions in cardiovascular medicine. Dr. Vonnes has taught clinical and didactic at the USF College of Nursing for undergraduate and nurse practitioner students and was recognized as a Hartford Distinguished Educator - Geriatric Nursing. Dr. Vonnes is certified as a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Oncology Nurse Practitioner. She holds a certification in evidenced based practice and health care quality. Serving on the national Nurse Leadership Board of AARP and on the Aging Policy Committee of the American Geriatric Society (AGS), she is able to advocate for older adults across the healthcare continuum. She was recently recognized as a Fellow of the AGS. Under Dr. Vonnes leadership Moffitt Cancer Center was the first hospital in Florida and first cancer center in the US to be recognized by the IHI and John A. Hartford Foundation as an Age Friendly Health System Committed to Care Excellence for the Older Adult. She has presented both nationally and internationally on fall and injury prevention, delirium, and geriatric assessment. Dr. Vonnes is the host of the podcast GAPNA CHAT that features leaders in Geriatric Health Care. The Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association awarded her the Excellence in Leadership 2022 Award and the Oncology Nurses Society Excellence in Care for the Older Adult with Cancer Award in 2019.
Ariel Green, MD, MPH, AGSF
Associate Professor of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
Dr. Green is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins and health services researcher. She completed her medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, trained in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and completed a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Hopkins. She earned a Master of Public Health and PhD in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2014, she joined the faculty as a clinician investigator at Hopkins, where she is a geriatrician practicing in the primary care setting and in the inpatient medicine unit.
Dr. Green’s research has focused on identifying targets and outcomes for deprescribing interventions, and understanding how patients and their families want doctors to communicate with them about the potentially-sensitive topic of stopping medicines. Her interest in improving communication about unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions in older adults led to her active involvement in co-writing the AGS Choosing Wisely recommendations. Inspired by her work on Choosing Wisely, she began to focus her research on optimizing medication use in older adults with multiple chronic conditions, specifically dementia. She is now focusing on developing and implementing pragmatic clinical trials to optimize prescribing for older adults in primary care. Her research is funded by the National Institute on Aging and the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory. She is Vice Chair of the AGS Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee. Her work has been recognized with the AGS Choosing Wisely Champion Award in 2016 and the Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year Award in 2022. A former health journalist, Dr. Green’s op-eds and essays about geriatric issues have been published in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Ecler E. Jaqua, MD, MBA, FAAFP, FACLM, DipABOM, AAHIVS, AGSF
Associate Professor, Family Medicine, Geriatric Medicine Division, Associate Program Director, Family Medicine, LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY | School of Medicine
LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH EDUCATION CONSORTIUM (LLUHEC)
Ecler Ercole Jaqua is an Associate Professor of Family and Geriatric Medicine and the Associate Program Director of the Loma Linda University Family Medicine Residency. She completed her family medicine residency at Loma Linda University and her geriatric medicine fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles. In addition to her board certification in Family Medicine, she is board certified in Geriatric Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. Dr. Jaqua also completed a Master of Business Administration with a track in strategic leadership and received her Lifestyle Medicine Intensivist certification. Last month Dr. Jaqua passed her HIV board and became an HIV specialist as well.
Candice R. Coffey, MD, FAAFP, AGSF
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Kansas
Program Director, University of Kansas Geriatric Medicine Fellowship
Dr. Coffey is a geriatrician at the University of Kansas School of Medicine within the Division of Geriatric Medicine. She is an Assistant Professor, Program Director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and Course Director for both the Pre-Matriculation Program and the Introduction to Doctoring courses within the School of Medicine. Her clinical practice focuses on rehabilitation of older adults with emphasis on transitions of care; utilizing the 5Ms framework to develop a plan for providers and patients with the goal of interrupting the cycle of frailty and improve outcomes. Dr. Coffey is passionate about teaching and engages learners of all levels in interdisciplinary education. She works closely with the School of Medicine and Graduate Medical Education departments, creating learning environments that support all learners. Her position as a geriatrician gives her the opportunity to teach and work alongside learners from Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and Social Work, residents from Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Psychiatry and fellows from Geriatric Medicine, Hematology/Oncology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She enjoys curriculum development and her research interests include transitions of care in older adults, laboratory testing stewardship, and teaching innovations in medical education.
Nancy L. Schoenborn, MD, MHS, AGSF
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Nancy Schoenborn, MD, MHS is Associate Professor of Medicine and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is a practicing primary care physician for older adults and a health services researcher. Her research goal is to enhance patient-centered care of older adults with multiple chronic conditions by improving how we communicate and incorporate life expectancy to inform clinical decisions such as cancer screening
Sarah Wingfield, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
Division of Geriatric Medicine
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Sarah Wingfield, MD is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern. She received her medical degree from UT Southwestern and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Duke University. Dr. Wingfield is the founder and Medical Director of the UTSW Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health (POSH) program which aims to improve the care of high risk older adults undergoing elective surgeries. She is the recipient of a Geriatrics Academic Career Award from the Health Resources and Services Administration to educate interprofessional trainees to provide optimal perioperative care for older adults. She co-authored the American Geriatrics Society Geriatrics Review Syllabus chapter on Perioperative Care, and she serves on the ACS NSQIP Geriatric Surgery Verification Program Education and Feedback Taskforce. She is passionate about medical education and improving care for older surgical patients. Dr. Wingfield currently resides in Frisco, TX with her three boys.
Lenny Powell, DO, MS, FACOFP, FNAOME, CMD, AGSF
Associate Professor of Medicine
Departments of Geriatrics and Gerontology / OMM
Geriatric Medicine Co-Clerkship Director
Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
Dr. Lenny Powell is a 2012 graduate of UMDNJ-SOM (now Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine). He completed his Family Medicine/OMM residency and Geriatrics fellowship at RowanSOM as well. He is board certified in Family Medicine/OMM and has a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine. He is also a Certified Medical Director of long-term care facilities. Dr. Powell is an Associate Professor at RowanSOM in the Departments of Geriatrics and Gerontology and the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. He is an active member of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Medical Directors Association, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians as well as the respective New Jersey state societies. He has been recognized as a Fellow of the National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators (NAOME) and as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) by the American Medical Directors Association. He has written texts on both Geriatric Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine as resources for medical students, residents, or practicing physicians interested in these topics available free of charge at http://www.linktr.ee/drlennyzyu
Dawn Butler, JD, MSW, AGSF
Director GRACE Training and Resource Center
Indiana University
Dawn Butler received her Bachelor of Social Work from Indiana State University and Master of Social Work from Indiana University. Ms. Butler received her law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Ms. Butler was one of the first social workers to join the original GRACE program at Eskenazi Health (formerly Wishard Health Services) and served in this capacity for seven years, a span that included the research trial. Upon completing her Juris Doctorate, Ms. Butler worked as an associate attorney for a general practice firm before returning to IU Geriatrics in 2012 to serve as the Director of the newly established IU Geriatrics GRACE Training and Resource Center. As the Director of the Center, she designs, implements, and coordinates dissemination and training programs to prepare health care professionals and organizations to implement GRACE Team Care. Additionally, Ms. Butler serves as the co-director of the HRSA funded IU Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program designed to provide training to the current and future health care workforce. Ms. Butler also serves as the Indiana state dementia coordinator in consultation with the Indiana Family Social Services Administration’s Division of Aging. Ms. Butler is active in the American Geriatrics Society and having served on national work groups and has led the social work section for the last six years.
Donna Marie Fick, PhD, RN, GCNS-BC, FGSA, FAAN, AGSF
Elouise Ross Eberly Endowed Professor
Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, Penn State
Director, Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
Editor, Journal of Gerontological Nursing
President-Elect, American Geriatrics Society
Dr. Donna Marie Fick is the Elouise Ross Eberly Endowed Professor of the Ross & Carol Nese College of Nursing at The Pennsylvania State University, and Director of the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. Dr. Fick is nationally and internationally recognized as a leading expert in geriatric care and research and is best known for her NIH funded work on mentation, delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) and ultra-brief delirium detection at the bedside. Along with Dr Marcantonio and their team, she has transformed the way clinicians approach delirium and DSD in the hospital setting. Their tools, the UB-2 and UB-CAM, are used in health systems across the world and the UB-CAM is available as a free app. She has been a member or co-chair of the interdisciplinary panel for the American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria for inappropriate medication use in older adults since 2002. She serves on the American Geriatrics Society Board as President-Elect, and as a member of the National Academy of Science Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence. She also serves as a faculty and advisory member on Creating an Age Friendly Health System Initiative with the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the Revisiting the Teaching Nursing Home Project. Dr. Fick has completed as PI & MPI three R01s. Two were NIH funded randomized intervention trials on delirium and delirium superimposed on dementia. She is currently testing with her MPI Dr Ed Marcantonio the cost and accuracy of a rapid delirium screen she co-developed as a two-step detection process called the UB-CAM. Dr. Fick widely disseminates her work through over 150 publications, national media coverage, and presentations. She has been Editor of the Journal of Gerontological Nursing since 2011 and is board certified as a Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist through 2024. Her goal in her research and service is to improve the care of older adults, persons with disabilities, and their care partners. She lives in rural PA near her three adult children and enjoys gardening and trail running in the mountains.
Renee J. Flores, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Dr. Renee J. Flores is an Associate Professor in the Joan & Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas at Houston. She is a geriatrician and clinical educator. Dr. Flores is the Medical Director of the Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit; she provides primary inpatient geriatric medicine and geriatric consultative service at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center. She is also AASECT certified sexual health counselor and educator and offers a specialty clinic in Sexual Medicine for older adults at the UTHealth Center for Healthy Aging. She served as the program director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship for five years. As an educator, she works closely within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to support and advocate a culturally rich and inclusive educational environment of collaboration and innovation. Dr. Flores teaches geriatrics in the schools of medical student education, nursing, public health, graduate medical education, geriatric fellowship training, and the community. Her faculty position at the medical school involves geriatric medical education for medical students, Internal Medicine, PM&R, Neurology residents, and Geriatric fellows. As core faculty within the John P. McGovern Center for Humanities & Ethics, she is developing programs and curricula for skill-building via narrative medicine, reflective and creative writing, and for professional growth and humanization of patient care, bioethics, and social issues in medicine. She has received numerously distinguished her commitment and devotion to life-long learning with the Dean's Excellence Teaching Award.
Dr. Ardeshir Z. Hashmi MD, FACP, FNAP, AGSF
Endorsed Chair of Geriatric Innovation and Section Chief of the Center for Geriatric Medicine
Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Hashmi completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Yale University. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Yale-Saint Mary’s Hospital in Connecticut, where he served as Chief Medical resident. He then trained at Massachusetts General Hospital as a Clinical and Research Fellow in Geriatrics before becoming Faculty and then Medical Director of MGH Senior Health-Harvard Medicine. Dr. Hashmi subsequently transitioned to the Cleveland Clinic.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the National Academies of Practice, a graduate of the Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program and the Value Based Healthcare Delivery program via the Harvard Business School Institute of Strategy& Competitiveness. Dr. Hashmi is also certified as an Advanced Peer Coach through the Cleveland Clinic Center for Excellence in Coaching and Mentoring. He is Co-Chair of the national American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Patient Priorities Care Special Interest Group (SIG) and serves on the AGS Health Systems Innovation Economics & Technology Committee and the Society for General Internal Medicine’s Geriatrics Commission.
Dr. Hashmi is also member of the Association of Chiefs and Leaders in General Internal Medicine (ACLGIM). He is an alumnus of the prestigious Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging (ELIA) national leadership development program (in conjunction with the American Geriatric Society and the University of California San Francisco) and the ACLGIM LEAD programs. He is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Hashmi’s niche area of interest is the intersection of technology and population health in the service of our most vulnerable populations.
Luke D Kim, MD, MEd, AGSF
Staff Physician, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Associate Fellowship Director, Geriatrics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Core Faculty and Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Internal Medicine Residency Program, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Kim is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University. He is a graduate of Korea University College of Medine and completed Internal Medicine residency at Flushing Hospital, Flushing, NY, followed by Geriatrics fellowship at Montefiore Hospital, Bronx, NY / Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Kim has been a clinician educator at Cleveland Clinic since 2012. He also received Master of Education degree at Cleveland State University on 2019. He is dedicated to improving health care outcomes for older adults in the acute care setting through education and role modeling how to meet the complex care needs of older hospitalized patients. His research interests include better outcomes on SNF discharged hospitalized older adults. He serves as a member of the ethics committee at the American Geriatric Society.
Sowmya Kurtakoti, MD, CMD, FAAFP, AGSF
Medical Director Geriatric Service Line
Hartford Healthcare Medical Group-Geriatrics
Dr. Sowmya Kurtakoti is the Medical Director of Geriatric Service Line at Hartford Healthcare as well as Chief of Geriatrics at Hartford Hospital. She has been instrumental in creating a Continuum of care within the Health system for older patients as they transition between different settings from hospital to SNF’s to Home. Currently working on expanding NICHE program and delirium prevention to all the acute care hospitals within the system as well as expanding a House call program by working with different teams and specialists to help improve patient outcome and experience.
Lisa Miura, MD, BSN, FACP, AGSF
Associate Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
OHSU/VA Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director
Division of Rehabilitation & Long-Term Care, VA Portland Healthcare System
Dr. Miura is Associate Professor of Medicine and Program Director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Her clinical practice is at the VA Portland Healthcare System, running specialty clinics in geriatric assessment, dementia telehealth, and falls. She received her BSN from University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, then completed her Internal Medicine Residency at OHSU and Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at UCLA. In addition to fellowship program director, she is the clerkship director for the OHSU School of Medicine Geriatric/Palliative elective and teaching faculty for the OHSU Internal Medicine and Psychiatry Residency programs, as well as Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship program. She is Co-Chair of the AGS Women in Geriatrics Section, longstanding Board Member of the Oregon Geriatrics Society, and is on the AGS Council of State Affiliate Representatives (COSAR) for the state of Oregon. She was recently elected as the new Co-Chair of AGS’ COSAR.
Liron Sinvani, MD, AGSF
Director of Research for Hospital Medicine
Director of the Geriatrics Hospitalist Service
Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell Health
Dr. Sinvani is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine and Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the Zucker School of Medicine/Northwell Health, and an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health System within the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health. She is also the Director of the Geriatrics Hospitalist Service at Northwell Health and the Director for Research for Hospital Medicine. As a geriatrician hospitalist and NIA-funded clinician scientist, Dr. Sinvani is passionate about improving the quality of hospital care for older and has been recognized as an emerging leader in Aging and Geriatrics research.
Heather E. Whitson, MD, AGSF
Professor of Medicine and Ophthalmology
Duke University
Dr. Heather Whitson is an internist, geriatrician and clinical investigator. She is a Professor of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Neurology, & Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences at Duke University; Director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development (aka “the Duke Aging Center”); and co-Director of the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Her overall goal is to optimize independence and resilience in people with multiple chronic conditions. She has particular expertise related to how the aging process and comorbidities affect the brain. Working with transdisciplinary teams, her work has improved outcomes for people with or at risk of vision impairment and cognitive impairment. Dr. Whitson has been an active contributor and thought leader in the emerging field of physical resilience. She is a Core Leader in Duke’s Pepper and Roybal Centers and co-leads the PRIME Collaborative, a multi-institutional research initiative to identify mechanisms and predictors of recovery after common health stressors (e.g., surgery, hip fracture). Through several institutional and national leadership roles, Dr. Whitson coordinates and facilitates efforts to broaden the evidence base and research workforce to improve knowledge and care decisions for medically complex older patients. Dr. Whitson’s contributions to the field of aging were acknowledged by the 2018 American Geriatrics Society Thomas and Yoshikawa Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Clinical Investigation.
Melisa Wong, MD, MAS, AGSF
Associate Professor
University of California, San Francisco
Melisa Wong, MD, MAS, AGSF is an Associate Professor at the University of California, San Francisco with joint appointments in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Division of Geriatrics. Dr. Wong is a thoracic medical oncologist, geriatric oncology clinician-investigator, and current National Institute on Aging Paul B. Beeson K76 Scholar. Dr. Wong’s research aims to transform cancer care for older adults—to help patients clarify their goals and values in the face of uncertainty and to support oncologists to keep these truths at the core of the care they provide. Nationally, she leads the American Geriatrics Society Junior Faculty Research Special Interest Group, American Society of Clinical Oncology Geriatric Oncology Education Committee and Geriatric Oncology Community of Practice, and Cancer and Aging Research Group Health Services Core.
2022 Fellows
Lobna Ali, MD, CMD, AGSF
Assistant Professor of Geriatrics
Louisiana State University Health Science Center
Maryjo L. Cleveland, MD, AGSF
Associate Professor, Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Dr. Maryjo Cleveland is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at Wake Forest School of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio and her Geriatric Fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She has spent most of her career in the outpatient geriatric clinic setting where she evaluates and manages patients with dementia and provides support and education to their caregivers. Since coming to WFBH in 2017, she has become Medical Director of the Memory Assessment Clinic where she also sees patients. She is also the Program Director for the Geriatric Fellowship program and the Vice Chief for Education for the Geriatric Section. She works on multiple grants in the Alzheimer’s disease Research Center and is an adjudicator for the SPRINT study. She is the Co-PI for the US Pointer study; a national, multisite study designed to evaluate if dementia/MCI can be prevented by multimodal lifestyle interventions.
Esteban Franco-Garcia, MD, AGSF
Program Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship
Medical Director, Geriatric Inpatient Fracture Service (GIFTS)
Quality and Safety Chair, Division of Palliative Care & Geriatric Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Instructor in Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Dr. Franco-Garcia is an attending physician in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his medical degree from the Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, Colombia and then went on to complete his residency in Internal Medicine at New York Medical College-Metropolitan Hospital Center. He then went to complete the Geriatric Medicine fellowship at Mass General Hospital.
After fellowship, Dr. Franco-Garcia joined the Mass General faculty and has several years of experience with ortho-geriatric co-management and currently directs the Geriatric Inpatient Fracture Service (GIFTS) at MGH. He is also interested in medical education and has served as program director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program since 2018. He is active at AGS co-teaching the Joint Injection and Physical Exam Workshops as well as co-chairing the Surgical Geriatric Co-Management Special Interest Group.
Lee A. Jennings, MD, MSHS, AGSF
Associate Professor and Chief
Reynolds Section of Geriatrics,
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Lee A. Jennings, MD, MSHS, Associate Professor and Chief, Reynolds Section of Geriatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, is a geriatrician and health services researcher whose work focuses on improving models of care delivery for dementia and aligning care received with patient health goals. She has established a statewide older adult health education and community outreach program focused on dementia healthcare workforce development and fall prevention in Oklahoma. She is the Director of the HRSA-funded Oklahoma Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program, PI for the ACL-funded Oklahoma Falls Prevention Program, and a multi-PI for an AHRQ-funded grant to reduce opioid use disorder and improve chronic pain management in Oklahoma primary care practices. She is a co-investigator on dementia-research funded by PCORI, NIA, and The John A. Hartford Foundation. She is a graduate of the Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging program, sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and co-chairs the AGS Women in Geriatrics Section.
Mark R Katlic, MD, MMM, FACS, AGSF
Director, Center for Geriatric Surgery
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Dr. Katlic is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed residencies in Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital. A practicing thoracic surgeon since 1984, Dr. Katlic also earned a Master of Medical Management degree from the John Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University in 1999.
Dr. Katlic has had a special interest in caring for the elderly for over 35 years. His paper, “Surgery in Centenarians,” was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1985 and he went on to publish seven textbooks and to lecture frequently on this subject. As a thoracic surgeon Dr. Katlic has pioneered video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) under local anesthesia and sedation, with results of 576 cases published in 2017.
Dr. Katlic is presently Chair of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He also directs the Sinai Center for Geriatric Surgery. In 2014 Dr. Katlic established The Aging Surgeon Program, a comprehensive, objective evaluation of a surgeon’s cognitive and physical faculties, at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. He was named Maryland Innovator of the Year in 2013 and Maryland Physician of the Year in 2019; he received the Maryland Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. In his free time he trains for triathlons.
Amy S. Kelley, MD, MSHS, AGSF
Professor
Mount Sinai Health System
Dr. Kelley is Professor and Vice Chair for Health Policy and Faculty Development, and Hermann Merkin Professor in Palliative Care in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and Senior Associate Dean for Gender Equity in Research Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Dr. Kelley completed her medical degree at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. She trained in Internal Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (Cornell) and continued on at Weill Cornell as a fellow in Geriatric Medicine. She was selected for the National Research Service Award at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she completed a Masters of Science in Health Services through the UCLA School of Public Health. In 2009, she joined the faculty as a clinical investigator at Mount Sinai, where she serves as attending physician on the Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine consultation services and inpatient units both at Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Dr. Kelley’s research bridges the intersection between geriatrics and palliative medicine by focusing on the needs of seriously ill older adults and their families, including those with dementia. She is particularly interested in regional practice variations and the relationship between patients’ social, functional, and medical characteristics and treatment intensity. She is also pursuing research that aims to prospectively identify those older adults who are at greatest risk for high healthcare costs and may have unmet palliative care needs. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Aging, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Palliative Care Research Center, among others.
Saeeduddin Khan, MD, FACP, CMD, AGSF
Geriatrician
VA Maryland Health System
While I was at Good Sam I was doing Comprehensive Geriatric assessment clinic, working with residents
And medical students. I was doing Geriatric lecture series and working on communication skills.
I joined Greater Baltimore Geriatrics and Gilchrist Hospice biggest geriatric group in Maryland. There I did
Acute care of elderly , sub acute care, Nursing home and ALF care as well as in patient and out patient geriatric and hospice consult service. Teaching residents, geriatric lecture series and focusing on teaching residents communication skills.
Received teaching awards from residents
Joined VA Maryland Health care system as lead physician of Geri PACT clinic, taking care of elderly veterans and also involved in teaching and training of Geriatric fellows and Nurse Practitioner residents.
I have done Medical acupuncture course at Harvard Medical School “The International Structural Acupuncture for Physicians”. I do treat veterans with acupuncture especially their pain , non pharmacological modality for pain management to avoid narcotics and it’s side effects.
I am very active with ACP Maryland chapter , I do volunteer for poster judging at local and National ACP meetings.
I am also an avid photographer and do photography for Maryland ACP chapter and got service award.
Teaching Assistant of Integrated Structural Acupuncture course for Physicians at University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.
I also volunteer for photography for American Academy of Medical Acupuncture annual meetings and for Integrated Structural Acupuncture course for Physicians at University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Philip A. Kithas, MD, PhD, FACP, AGSF
Professor of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Geriatrics
University of Utah Health/School of Medicine
Dr. Kithas grew up in Utah and graduated with a BA in Biology from the University of Utah. He then attended the University of South Alabama in Mobile where he received a BS in Human Physiology, PhD in Pharmacology, and his MD. Dr. Kithas returned to Salt Lake City in 1990 for his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Utah. At the completion of his residency, he did an extra year as Chief Medical Resident. Dr. Kithas joined the faculty at the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1995 with all his clinical duties at the George E. Wahlen Salt Lake VAMC. He was at the VA for 25 years and while there, he was the Associate Chief of Staff for Primary Care from 1999 to 2006. From 2006 to 2019 Dr. Kithas was Chief of the Geriatrics Division at the VA. It was an honor and a privilege to have cared for the veterans of this country. His passion has always been to work with and mentor students and residents in the setting of patient care. Dr. Kithas has also mentored students from Physician Assistant and graduate Nurse Practitioner programs.
Jeannie K. Lee, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, FASHP, AGSF
Assistant Dean of Student Services,
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy, Practice & Science,
University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy
Dr. Jeannie Lee is Assistant Dean of Student Services and Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice & Science at the University of Arizona (UArizona) R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. She is also Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine & Palliative Medicine at the UArizona College of Medicine, and research associate and faculty in the Arizona Center on Aging. Dr. Lee has board certifications in pharmacotherapy and geriatric pharmacy and is a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). She practices interprofessionally at the Banner University Medical Center Geriatrics Clinic and serves as faculty liaison to the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. She represents pharmacy on the UA Health Sciences Innovations in Healthy Aging Working Team.
Dr. Lee is currently serving as a Contact PI on the NIH-funded “Improving Hypertension Medication Adherence for Older Adults” project in collaboration with UArizona College of Nursing and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She serves as a Contact PI on another NIH-funded project, “Pharmacist-CHW Team to Improve Medication Adherence and Reduce Hypertension Disparities,” collaborating with University of Massachusetts and Caring Health Center. Dr. Lee served as PI on “Assessment of Interprofessional Collaborative Practices and Outcomes in Adults With Diabetes and Hypertension in Primary Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” published in JAMA Network Open and “Geriatric Patient Care by U.S. Pharmacists in Healthcare Teams: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses” published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society. She served as co-PI in the “Demonstrating Pharmacists’ Impact as Team Member on Therapeutic, Safety, Humanistic, and Economic Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses” project, with primary results published in Medical Care. While working at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, Dr. Lee conducted the Federal Study of Adherence to Medications in the Elderly (FAME) trial and published the findings in JAMA.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy, Dr. Lee completed her residency training at the VA Medical Center in Washington, DC. Her multiple honors include the Ralph D. Arnold Army Pharmacy Research Award, Mel Liter Clinical Pharmacy Award, Association of Military Surgeons of United States’ Circle of Excellence Award, ASHP Foundation’s Pharmacy Practice Research Literature Award (received 3 times), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Innovative Adherence Educators Challenge Award, and Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy’s Excellence in Geriatric Pharmacy Practice Award. Dr. Lee is a selected member of the National Institute on Aging Health Disparities Resource Persons Network and Chair of the Pharmacist Section in the American Geriatrics Society. She is passionate about research in medication adherence and aging; interprofessional education and practice; interdisciplinary research; and academic leadership.
Jonny Macias Tejada, MD, AGSF
Medical Director, Acute Care for Elders (ACE) program and Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP)
Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center
Dr. Jonny Macias is the Medical Director for the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Program and the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) at Aurora St Luke’s Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the Central University of Ecuador in Quito, Ecuador, and went on to complete his Family Medicine residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, IA. Dr. Macias completed his fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is board certified in Geriatric Medicine and Family Medicine.
Dr. Macias’s major clinical interests include caring for acutely ill hospitalized older patients. He is part of a multidisciplinary effort at Advocate Aurora Health to disseminate geriatrics models of care. Dr. Macias led a team to achieve AGS CoCare: Hospital Elder Life Program Center of Excellence for Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Dr. Macias’s main focus is to expand inpatient geriatric consultation and geriatric knowledge in the emergency department, trauma service and hospital medicine.
Kourosh A.P. Moshiri, MD, CMD, HMDC, FACP, FACCWS, AGSF
Associate Program Director, Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program and Core Faculty,
Internal Medicine Residency Program at Eisenhower Medical Center.
Clinical Assistant Professor at University of California Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine.
Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine, Dr. Moshiri, sees patients at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, CA. He did his undergraduate at National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET) and medical school at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Iran. After graduating from medical school and completion of his internship at University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center in the Washington D.C. metro area, he completed both his internal medicine residency and geriatric medicine fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center/ Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, NY.
Upon recognition of his competences in clinical medicine, medical management and commitment to improve quality of life in geriatric patients in different settings such as outpatient geriatric clinic, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and hospice he was granted Fellow of the American Geriatric Society (AGSF), Certified Medical Director (CMD) and Hospice Medical Director Certified (HMDC) credentials by the by the American Geriatric Society (AGS), American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Medicine (ABPLM) and Hospice Medical Director Certification Board, respectively. Dr Moshiri, is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Wound Medicine and Surgery and the Fellow of the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists (FACCWS). He has been honored to be a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) by demonstrating excellence and contributions made to both medicine and the broader community which he serves. Author and presenter of more than 40 scientific papers mostly in geriatric topics, in state and national meetings, he is a long-time advocate for implementing quadruple aim in our healthcare system to promote higher quality of care, higher patients’ satisfaction, physicians’ wellness and at the same time to decrease the unnecessary cost, especially for the growing geriatric population. That being said, he is perusing an additional post-graduate degree in Executive Master of Healthcare Administration (EMHA) at the University of Southern California (USC).
Dr. Moshiri, comes from a family of physicians, so there was little thought on the career path he would take. “I was surrounded by doctors in my family,” states Dr. Moshiri. “From an early age, I was challenged to make a difference with my life’s work and to improve people’s lives.” During my residency, I was drawn to geriatric medicine as a subspecialty by its great challenges and complexities. “I believe mutual respect is a foundation in working with my patients,” states Dr. Moshiri. “I approach my patient with a ‘5M Framework” focusing on 1) Mobility, 2) Mentation, 3) Medication 4) What Matters most and 5) Multiple complex and chronic medical conditions of my patients. My aim is to provide a holistic, patient-centered, age- friendly and cost-effective approach to improve the quality of life while maintaining the dignity of older adults.”
Additionally, Dr. Moshiri is serving as the Associated Program Director in the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship program and Core Faculty in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) with active participation in implementing the ACGME required curriculum for the EMC’s Internal Medicine geriatric rotation and the Geriatric Fellowship program. At the same time Dr. Moshiri is actively involved in establishing the desired geriatric settings such as SNF, Wound care, geriatric primary care clinic and the memory clinic for the new geriatric fellowship program. He also serves as a mentor and Clinical Assistant Professor at University of California Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine.
Sandeep R Pagali, MD, MPH, CLHM, AGSF
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Medical Director, Inpatient Geriatric Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Dr. Sandeep Pagali is a Consultant and Assistant Professor of Medicine, in the Division of Hospital Internal Medicine and Division of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Dr. Pagali completed his medical school in India, Family Medicine residency at Southern Illinois University, and Geriatric Medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He also earned a Master’s in Public Health degree from Missouri State University. Dr. Pagali has been in clinical practice as a geriatric hospitalist since fellowship completion in 2014, and presently serves as the Inpatient Geriatric Unit Medical director, and the medical director for medical triage at Mayo clinic Rochester. He also serves as the Associate research chair, in the Division of Hospital Medicine and serves on the Hospital Medicine executive leadership committee.
Dr. Pagali is dedicated to quality care of older adults and focuses on optimizing acute care of older adults in hospital setting and subsequent care transitions. He developed the Mayo Delirium Prediction tool that helps identify delirium risk automatically based on risk factors populated in electronic health record, for a hospitalized patient at the time of admission and validated this tool. As part of his research work, he identified process gaps in delirium assessment and completed quality improvement projects to enhance delirium prevention and management. He is involved as a co-PI and investigator on several dementia related clinical trials at Mayo Clinic which are testing non-pharmacological strategies for dementia and related behaviors. Dr. Pagali is actively involved in the education of medical students, residents on their Geriatric rotations, Geriatric Medicine fellows, and Hospital Medicine fellows on a regular basis. Dr. Pagali is also an active member of American Geriatrics Society, Clinical Practice and Models of Care committee, Member of Minnesota Association of Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians, Society of Hospital Medicine, and AMDA The society for Post-Acute and Long-Term care Medicine.
Sangeeta A. Rana, MD, MPH, AGSF
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Clinician-Educator, Division of Geriatrics, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Dr. Sangeeta Rana is a clinician-educator in the division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She completed a Family Medicine residency at State University of New York in Buffalo, followed by a two-year geriatric medicine fellowship at UPMC-St. Margaret. She also earned a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, where her thesis “Vitamin B12 Deficiency-An Unrecognized Public Health Problem in the Elderly" was recognized by the Delta Omega National Honor Society. Dr. Rana is dually board-certified in Family Medicine and Geriatrics.
Dr. Rana has been committed to practicing patient-centered geriatric medicine for over two decades. She provides both consultative and primary care in geriatrics, and she has a special interest in ambulatory and long-term care (LTC). She is currently affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh’s prestigious Benedum Geriatric Center and was formerly Section Chief and Medical Director of the Geriatric Care Center at UPMC St. Margaret. Over the years, Dr. Rana has focused on developing a fully integrated interprofessional approach to geriatric care, and she has been a consistent thought leader and supporter when it comes to launching new services such as e-consults and telemedicine care at LTC facilities. She has also collaborated with Pennsylvania’s Department of Health and Human Services to help lead their Regional Response Health Collaborative Program, which aimed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in long term care facilities and improve vaccination rates.
Dr. Rana has been actively involved with teaching and mentoring of medical students, pharmacy students, residents, and geriatric fellows. For over a decade, she has been a key faculty member of geriatric fellowship program as well as an integral preceptor for the University of Pittsburgh medical school’s interprofessional training program in geriatrics. Dr. Rana has also mentored medical students in the Adult Physical Exam course and Area of Concentration activities in geriatrics, and she has worked closely with them as part of the COVID-19 Education Support & Clinical Coaching Program.
Joshua Raymond, MD, MPH, AGSF
Associate Professor
Rutgers – RW Johnson Medical School at CentraState
Dr. Joshua J. Raymond is Professor of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is board certified in Family Medicine and holds Certificates of Added Qualification in Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care Hospice Care. He is the current Chairman of the CentraState Medical Center Department of Family Medicine. He is the Geriatric Fellowship Director at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School CentraState. He is core faculty at the Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson CentraState Family Medicine Residency Program. He is Medical Director at the Manor Nursing Facility and Applewood Estates Continuing Care Retirement Community. Dr. Raymond in on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well and New Jersey Goals of Care. He is a current board member and also a former President of the New Jersey Medical Directors Association. Dr. Raymond was a New Jersey Co-Host for the Project ECHO COVID-19 in Nursing Homes, one of six finalists for the 100&Change McArthur’s Global competition for $100 million.
Andrea Wershof Schwartz, MD, MPH, AGSF
Associate Director for Clinical Innovation
New England Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center
VA Boston Healthcare System
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital
Dr. Schwartz is the Director of the Aging and End of Life Theme at Harvard Medical School and Associate Program Director of the Harvard Multicampus Geriatrics Fellowship. A national leader in the Age Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) Initiative, Dr. Schwartz serves as Associate Director for Clinical Innovation in the New England GRECC (Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center) and medical director of the Geriatrics Clinic at VA Boston Healthcare System. A Tideswell fellow, Dr. Schwartz is a recipient of the AGS Outstanding Junior Clinician Educator Award, and served as an Associate Editor for Aquifer Geriatrics, the AGS National Online Curriculum. Dr. Schwartz co-chaired the AGS/ADGAP Medical Student Competencies Committee and represents AGS at the AAMC.
Xiangrong Shao, MD, FACP, AGSF
Staff Physician, Medical Acupuncturist
Battlefield Acupuncture Instructor
VA Maryland Healthcare System
Clinical Instructor
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Department of Geriatric Medicine
She graduated from Nanjing Medical University and completed her cardiology fellowship at the Cardiovascular Institute at Fu Wai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China. She then worked as a staff cardiologist at the Cardiovascular Institute at Fu Wai Hospital.
She completed her internal medicine residency at Atlanta Medical Center and Geriatric Medicine fellowship at University of Maryland School of Medicine. She was a 2001 Hartford/American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Academic Geriatric Fellowship Recipient. Her research topic was titled “Longitudinal Assessment of Functional Performance in Older Peripheral Arterial Disease Patients.” After her geriatric medicine fellowship, she joined the largest geriatric medicine practice in state of Maryland as assistant medical director at Levindale Geriatric Medical Center. She was responsible for the highly complex geriatric patients in the chronic ventilator unit, long term care unit, dementia unit, subacute care unit and geriatric-psychiatric unit. She also provided outpatient services for her geriatric patients in the office and at their homes via house call. She was also a volunteer clinical instructor in charge of Sinai Hospital internal medicine, Physical Medicine and Ob/Gyn resident physicians’ geriatric medicine curriculum.
She joined VA Maryland Healthcare System in 2005 as staff geriatrician at VA Loch Raven Community Living Center and is actively involved in geriatric medicine teaching for University of Maryland School of Medicine’s medical students, internal medicine resident physicians, geropsychiatric fellows and geriatric medicine fellows. She is also actively involved American College of Physicians activities as a poster abstract reviewer and competition judge. She also participates in AGS meetings as a proposal reviewer, poster abstract reviewer and poster judge.
After she completed her formal medical acupuncture training “The International Acupuncture Course for Physicians: A Palpation Based Approach” at Harvard Medical School in 2015, she was trained as a Battlefield Acupuncture Faculty at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in 2016. As the first geriatrician trained in Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA), she incorporated her skill of BFA into her routine geriatric medicine practice and geriatric medicine fellowship training. She is first geriatrician in the nation to apply BFA in clinical geriatric practice, and first BFA instructor provide hand-on training for geriatric medicine fellows during their fellowship.
She also provided bedside medical acupuncture therapy for frail veterans with multiple comorbidities in VA CLC as non-pharmacological modality for pain management. CLC rotation with her is the one of the top rotations ranked by medical students, medical resident physicians and geriatric medicine fellows. She has previously received the Best Teacher Award.
Dr. Shao is board certified for internal medicine, geriatric medicine and hospice and palliative care. She is also medical acupuncturist, Battlefield Acupuncture instructor at VA Maryland Healthcare System. She is also guest speaker and teaching assistant for “Integrated Structural Acupuncture Course for Physician” by University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Shao has a great interest in the incorporation of whole health into the standard of care in geriatric medicine.
Mriganka Singh, MD, AGSF
Faculty
Brown University
Dr. Singh is an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. She completed her clinician-educator fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Brown University in 2012. Her clinical interests center around improving care for the older adults in hospitals and nursing home settings. This has led her to launch and expand Geriatric Co-management programs such as the Geriatrics- Trauma Co-management program, Geriatrics- Heart Failure co-management program at two academic institutions. She currently leads the Geriatrics-Total Joints program at Lifespan, a Brown University affiliate.
As part of improving care for the older adults, she has worked on hospital and health system level improvement projects such as CAUTI reduction, as well as Antimicrobial and Diagnostic stewardship initiatives. She presently co-leads the Age Friendly Health System initiative at Lifespan in addition to working on hospital fall reduction and improvement of post-operative delirium initiatives.
These interests translate into educational and research settings as well. Through her engagement with AGS, she has helped in the development and dissemination of the AGS CoCare: Ortho curriculum. She serves as the course director for “Measuring and Improving the Quality of Health Care” at Brown University’s School of Public Health. She continues to teach and mentor medical students, residents, fellows and faculty from geriatrics, surgical specialties as well as other allied health disciplines such as nursing and pharmacy.
Michael Steinman, MD, AGSF
Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Steinman is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. A geriatrician-researcher, he cares for older adults in outpatient and inpatient settings and conducts research evaluating how older adults use medications, the problems that arise from medication overuse and misuse, and strategies for improving pharmaceutical care for older adults. He is co-principal investigator of the US Deprescribing Research Network, Associate Director of the UCSF Pepper Center for Aging Research, and co-chair of the American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria of Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Older Adults. Michael Steinman, MD, AGSF
Lynn M. Wilson, DO, FACOFP, FAAFP, AGSF
Department of Family Medicine, Section Chief of Geriatrics
Program Director, Geriatrics Fellowship
Lehigh Valley Health Network
Dr. Lynn M. Wilson received her degree in osteopathic medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, PA and went on to complete her family medicine residency at Providence Family Medicine Residency in Southfield, MI. She completed a geriatrics fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is currently board certified in Family Medicine as well as OMT with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatric Medicine. She is currently the Section Chief of Geriatrics in the Department of Family Medicine and the Geriatric Fellowship Director. She is also a faculty member for the Family Medicine residency program. She sees patients at Valley Health Partners-Family Health Center, an FQHC-look alike in Allentown, PA. She currently sits on the Board of Trustees for the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physician Society as well as on national committees for the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. Her research is focused on LGBTQ+ aging and geriatric primary care.