Team

Dr. Kathleen Unroe’s research, clinical, and policy interests include improving palliative care and end-of-life care for nursing home residents. She is co-PI for UPLIFT, an NIH R01 testing a robust model of palliative care for nursing home residents. She is also co-PI of APPROACHES, an NIH R33 pragmatic trial of advance care planning in nursing homes. She led OPTIMISTIC, an 8-year CMS funded clinical and payment demonstration project aimed at improving quality of care and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations in 40 Indiana nursing homes.

Dr. Debra Saliba is a physician policy researcher and professor of medicine at UCLA and the Los Angeles VA GRECC. She directs the UCLA Borun Center where her research uses mixed methods to improve quality of care and quality of life for vulnerable older adults and adults with long-term care needs. Dr. Saliba led the national revision of the Minimum Data Set for Nursing Homes (MDS 3.0) for CMS and was a co-investigator on work to extend these standardized data elements into other post acute care assessment. Her recent research includes patient-centered quality measures and the relationship between staffing and nursing home quality. Dr. Saliba is a past president of the American Geriatrics Society and she is an executive editor of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Dr. Susan Hickman is a clinical geropsychologist focused on improving quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias through improved decision-making and communication about treatment preferences. Her expertise is in palliative care and advance care planning, with a focus on the nursing facility setting. Dr. Hickman is a founding member of National POLST, which aims to honor the treatment preferences of patients with life-limiting illness at risk of a life-threatening events and is used widely in nursing homes. She has spent nearly 25 years studying POLST Portable Medical Orders, and her research findings are used to support programs based on the POLST model across the country. Recent projects include serving as a co-principal investigator on a National Institute on Aging trial of an advance care planning training program in 180 nursing facilities across the country and on National Institute of Nursing Research grant to map advance care planning workflows and identify outcomes in different settings of care.

Dr. Cari Levy is an internist board-certified in Geriatrics and Hospice and Palliative Medicine and has a PhD in Clinical Sciences. Her research focuses on improving models of long-term care and palliative care delivery to frail older adult populations. She is Division Head of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado and Director of Hospice and Palliative Care for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Levy is a past president of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (formally AMDA, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine). Publication topics include veteran care, palliative care, adult foster care, and nursing home care.

Dr. Sheryl Zimmerman is an internationally recognized research expert in long-term services and supports for older adults, including those living with dementia. She has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and numerous books. In 1997, Dr. Zimmerman founded the Collaborative Studies of Long-Term Care, the largest ongoing research consortium of almost 1,500 long-term care settings across the country, which participate in observation studies, quality improvement projects, and clinical trials to understand care, develop and implement new practices, and evaluate outcomes. She works closely with organizations including the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association on initiatives related to care, outcomes, and quality of life for older adults.

Dr. Sheryl Zimmerman is an internationally recognized research expert in long-term services and supports for older adults, including those living with dementia. She has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and numerous books. In 1997, Dr. Zimmerman founded the Collaborative Studies of Long-Term Care, the largest ongoing research consortium of almost 1,500 long-term care settings across the country, which participate in observation studies, quality improvement projects, and clinical trials to understand care, develop and implement new practices, and evaluate outcomes. She works closely with organizations including the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association on initiatives related to care, outcomes, and quality of life for older adults.

Dr. Jasmine Travers is an Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and assistant professor of nursing at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She conducts research to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities in older adult groups. She focuses on reducing health disparities in home & community-based settings, nursing homes, and assisted living. Dr. Travers served on the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes.

Dr. Alice Bonner is Senior Advisor for Aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Chair of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition. She is the former Director of the Division of Nursing Homes at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Dr. Bonner is a gerontological nurse practitioner and has cared for older adults and their families for over 30 years. Dr. Bonner is interested in home and community-based programs, nursing home quality, nursing workforce development, fall prevention, and other topics.

Dr. Jennifer Carnahan’s research centers on improving quality of care for older adults in nursing homes and stems from her medical training as a geriatrician. Her recent research focuses on transitions of care from the skilled nursing facility (SNF) setting to home for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Recent publication topics include improving for older LGBTQ+ adults and improving communication in nursing homes.

Dr. Gail Towsley is a gerontologist and licensed nursing home administrator. Her goal is to further scientific knowledge about palliative care, end-of-life care, and care coordination in long-term care settings. She led the development of Me & My Wishes, which are video recorded conversations with long-term care residents communicating end-of-life and everyday preferences.

Dr. Susan Hickman is a clinical geropsychologist focused on improving quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias through improved decision-making and communication about treatment preferences. Her expertise is in palliative care and advance care planning, with a focus on the nursing facility setting. Dr. Hickman is a founding member of National POLST, which aims to honor the treatment preferences of patients with life-limiting illness at risk of a life-threatening events and is used widely in nursing homes. She has spent nearly 25 years studying POLST Portable Medical Orders, and her research findings are used to support programs based on the POLST model across the country. Recent projects include serving as a co-principal investigator on a National Institute on Aging trial of an advance care planning training program in 180 nursing facilities across the country and on National Institute of Nursing Research grant to map advance care planning workflows and identify outcomes in different settings of care.

Dr. Andrew Zullo aims to improve medication and vaccine use for older adults by conducting research in geriatric pharmacoepidemiology and health services, especially pertaining to nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. He is also interested in quality and determinants of medication use and pharmaceutical care delivery. Dr. Zullo applies many methodologies to large administrative claims, electronic health records, and other linked datasets. As a member of the Technical User Advisory Group with the Long Term Care Data Cooperative (LTCDC), he has helped to guide how the LTCDC data are managed, structured, and made available to researchers.

Dr. Cathleen Colon-Emeric is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the Duke University School of Medicine. Her current research focuses on topics such as prevention of osteoporotic fractures in older adults and improving quality of care for residents in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). She has led numerous large randomized trials in SNFs, including a comparative effectiveness trial of models of post-acute care after fracture in 42 facilities, a randomized trial of a multifactorial osteoporosis quality improvement program in 38 facilities, and a staff development program for fall prevention in 24 facilities.

Dr. Stefan Gravenstein is a geriatrician and clinical and health services researcher. His work has largely had a long-term care context, with infection, immunity, policy, vaccination, and care quality themes. He has led multiple clinical trials in the long-term care setting. He uses both traditional explanatory RCT design and advanced data techniques. Such techniques include target trial emulation trials for observational data and pragmatic large scale cluster randomized trial design approaches that can further broaden our utility, validity, and understanding.

Dr. Julie Lima is the expert on data compliance and human subjects research regulatory matters within Brown’s Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research with over 20 years of experience in research and administration.  She is well-versed in regulatory issues surrounding the use of a single IRB, pragmatic clinical trials in real-world settings, waivers of informed consent, and the use of HIPAA-protected data for research purposes.  Her most recent interest is in grappling with the ethical and regulatory issues surrounding the use of AI in research. Dr. Lima received her MPH in Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Social and Behavioral Sciences from Boston University and her PhD in Sociology/Population Studies from Brown University.

Dr. Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, a Professor of Physical Therapy, leads a multi-faceted research program that advances innovative, evidence-based solutions for older adult rehabilitation. Her work integrates implementation science, predictive analytics, and tele-rehabilitation to optimize rehabilitation outcomes across diverse clinical settings and populations, using rigorous research methods to drive impactful improvements in care.

Dr. Wanzhu Tu is an applied statistician with long experience in aging-related research. He has experience designing and conducting clinical trials and observational studies. He has led multiple clinical studies and has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and many specialty journals. His statistical methodological work has appeared in both theoretical and applied statistical journals, including the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Biometrics, the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, and the Annals of Applied Statistics. He is an elected Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Cari Levy is an internist board-certified in Geriatrics and Hospice and Palliative Medicine and has a PhD in Clinical Sciences. Her research focuses on improving models of long-term care and palliative care delivery to frail older adult populations. She is Division Head of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado and Director of Hospice and Palliative Care for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Levy is a past president of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (formally AMDA, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine). Publication topics include veteran care, palliative care, adult foster care, and nursing home care.

Dr. Barbara Resnick is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and the Associate Dean of Research. Her research program focuses on motivation in older adults, optimizing function and physical activity in older adults, and testing the implementation of interventions in real-world sites. Dr. Resnick has published over 300 articles, multiple chapters in nursing and medical textbooks, and books on resilience and restorative care in older adults. Her work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and organizations including the Helen and Leonard Stulman Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Dr. Sarah Berry is a geriatrician and clinical researcher with expertise in studying injuries among nursing home residents. Much of Dr. Berry’s research has focused on identifying modifiable risk factors for injurious falls, including medications. Dr. Berry is currently the MPI of a large trial to determine the effects of a deprescribing care model and an osteoporosis treatment model on rates of injurious falls among patients receiving post-acute care in a nursing home following a fracture. Additionally, she has a K24 award, which allows her to precept trainees on projects related to injuries in older adults and nursing home research.

Dr. Joan Carpenter is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She is trained as an advance practice nurse and scientist. Her research interests focus on implementing and evaluating non-pharmacologic palliative care interventions to improve quality of life and enhance decision making for people living with serious illness in post-acute and long-term care settings.

Dr. Nicole Fowler is a health services researcher and implementation scientist focusing on behavioral and other nonpharmacologic approaches to improve dementia care, family caregiving, and medical decision making for older adults with cognitive impairment. The overall focus of her research program is the development, testing, and comparison of evidence-based and patient-centered interventions that improve the quality of care for older adults and their family caregivers. Her research has been funded by multiple organizations along with the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and Indiana University, Dr. Fowler was a licensed nursing home and personal care home administrator in Pennsylvania. She has served as the director of a hospital-based rehabilitation unit, a 200 bed skilled nursing facility, and helped to launch the hospital-based palliative care program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.