Active and robust geriatric research program
Our division maintains an active and robust research program supported through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, among others.
Our research spans basic and translational research, ranging from investigating how best to provide care to hospitalized older adults, to determining the cellular mechanisms of neuronal injury in the brain.
One recent achievement for the division is a $12 million award presented to Consuelo H. Wilkins, MD, MSCI, by the NIH to create the Southeast Collaboration for Innovation and Equitable Solutions to Chronic Disease Disparities.
Our division faculty regularly publish manuscripts in leading peer-reviewed journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Research Centers and Labs
- Center for Quality Aging: The mission of the Center for Quality Aging is to foster multidisciplinary aging research and improve quality of care and quality of life for older adults across a variety of settings.
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC): VA geriatric centers of excellence focused on aging, established to improve the health and health care of older veterans. They are located at medical centers across the country connected with major research universities, including Vanderbilt.
- Middle Tennessee Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program: The Middle Tennessee GWEP addresses Tennessee’s poor health rankings and health profession shortfall by integrating geriatrics into primary care delivery systems while increasing the pool of quality geriatric providers.
- Dugan Lab: A research lab managed by Laura L. Dugan, MD, is focused on neuronal injury in the brain and the role of inflammation in the aging brain and in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease.