HISTORY

The SON has been a leader in research focused on aging for two decades. The Center for Innovative Care in Aging was launched at the SON in 2011 by Dr. Laura Gitlin to advance novel behavioral interventions to enhance the health, well-being, and aging of older adults and their families.  In an effort to broaden the Center’s focus beyond behavioral interventions, the SON launched the Center for Equity in Aging under the leadership of Dr. Katherine Ornstein in 2022.

MEET THE TEAM

CENTER DIRECTOR

Katherine Ornstein, PhD, MPH
Professor (PAR)
Email: ornstein@jhu.edu
Research areas:  Home-based primary and palliative care; dementia caregiving, hospice and palliative care delivery; long-term services and supports, health equity

Associate Director of Innovation & Implementation

Quincy Samus, PhD, MS
Research Associate
Email: qmiles@jhmi.edu
Research areas:  Improve dementia care quality, delivery, and equity through translation of practical evidence-based, and cost-efficient practices to meet the needs of patients, families, providers, and health systems

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Sarah Allgood, PhD, RN
Email: sallgoo1@jhmi.edu
Research areas: Pain/Symptom management and palliative care

SR. DATA ANALYST

Hanna Charankevich, PhD
Email: hcharan1@jh.edu

STRATEGIST

Erika Hornstein, MBA, MA
Email: erief1@jhu.edu

SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

Porscha Reid
Phone: 410-614-4639
Email: preid12@jhu.edu 

STEERING COMMITTEE

• Sarah Szanton
• Kathy McDonald
• Anna Beeber

PRINCIPAL FACULTY

Martha A. Abshire, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Phone: 410-502-0233
email:  mabshir1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Heart failure, caregiving, quality of life, shared decision-making, and palliative care

Kamila A. Alexander, PhD, MPH, RN
Assistant Professor
Phone: 443-287-8529
Email: kalexan3@jhu.edu
Research areas: Intimate partner violence and HIV risk; health inequities; healthy sexuality; emerging adulthood; reproductive coercion; community-based research; social determinants of health

Anna Beeber, PHD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor
Email: abeeber1@jhmi.edu
Research areas:  Aging, dementia, disparities, equity, gerontological / geriatric, gerontology, quality improvement, safety

Valerie Cotter, DrNP, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
Associate Professor
Phone: 410-955-7758
Email: vcotter1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Dementia; Alzheimer's disease; aging

Rita D'Aoust, PhD, ACNP, ANP-BC, CNE, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN
Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning
Phone: 443-287-2768
Email: rdaoust1@jhu.edu
Research areas:  Interprofessional education; underserved populations

Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN
Dean Emerita and Professor
Phone: 410-955-7544
Email: pdavids3@jhu.edu
Research Areas: Cardiovascular care, transitional care; underserved populations

Patrick Doyle, PhD 
Regional Vice President, Brightview Senior Living
Phone: 410-962-0595
Email: pdoyle@bvsl.net
Research areas: Dementia; assisted living care; aging

Jessica Gill, PHD, RN, FAAN
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Email: jessicagill@jhu.edu 
Research areas: biological mechanisms of traumatic brain injuries, biological mechanisms of PTSD and depression

Deborah Gross, DNSC, MS, RN, FAAN
Leonard and Helen Stulman Endowed Professor 
Phone: 410-614-5311
Email: debgross@jhu.edu
Research areas: Family Health, Mental Health, Parenting, Pediatrics, Social Determinants of Health/Poverty

Bryan Hansen, PhD, RN, APRN-CNS, ACNS-BC
Assistant Professor
Phone: 410-614-4820
Email: bhansen3@jhu.edu
Research areas: Dementia, aggressive behaviors, neuropsychiatric symptoms, elder abuse, caregiving, geropsychiatry, person-centered interventions, restraint/seclusion reduction

Melissa Hladek, PhD, MSN, RN, CRNP, FNP-BC
Assistant Professor
Phone: 410-614-2418
Email: mhladek1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Aging, Chronic Care, Vulnerable Populations 

Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor
Phone: 410-502-0184
Email: cyeh13@jhu.edu
Research areas: Cancer; pain management, auricular medicine

Binu Koirala, PhD, MGS, RN
Assistant Professor
Phone: 410-614-4718
email:  bkoiral1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Cardiovascular Health, Palliative Care, Care of People with Complex and Chronic Conditions 

Junxin Li, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Email: jli248@jhu.edu
Research Areas: Aging, sleep, physical activity, cognition; person-centered dementia care

Katherine Marx, PhD, MPH
Research Associate
Phone: 443-287-8633 
Email: kmarx1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Senior Housing, Aging in Place, Home Safety, Dementia Care, Osteoporosis, Falls and Fractures

Carrie L. Nieman, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Phone: 301-896-3331
Email: cnieman1@jhmi.edu
Research areas: Hearing health equity, age-related hearing loss, dementia, health disparities, community-based interventions

Jeanine M. Parisi, PhD
Senior Scientist, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Phone: 410-955-0412
Email: jparisi1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Cognitive aging, prevention, lifestyle activities, personality, community-based interventions, public health

Lauren J. Parker, PhD, MPH
Assistant Scientist, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Phone: 410 -955-2215
Email: lparke27@jhmi.edu
Research areas: Psycho-social stress, health disparities, life course and aging

Craig Pollack, MD, MHS
Katey Ayers Endowed Associate Professor
Phone: 410 -955-4201
Email: cpollac2@jhmi.edu
Research areas: Community / Public Health, Disparities, Primary Care, Social Determinants of Health/Poverty, Vulnerable Populations

Natalie Regier, PhD
Assistant Professor
Email: nregier1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Dementia-related restlessness, myriad problems resulting from the ambiguity of restlessness, including improperly-targeted behavioral interventions

Laura Samuel, PhD, CRNP
Assistant Professor
Phone: 410-502-7170
Email: lsamue11@jhu.edu
Research areas: Socioeconomic status, neighborhoods, aging, chronic disease, health disparities, health promotion

Bonnielin Swenor, PhD, MPH 
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Phone: 410-614-2874
Email: bswenor@jhmi.edu
Research areas: Ophthalmology; Visual impairment; Low Vision; Disability; Aging; Epidemiology

Sarah Szanton, PhD, RN, FAAN
Patricia M. Davidson Professor for Health Equity and Social Justice
Dean, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
Email: sszanto1@jhu.edu
Research areas: Aging, Health Disparities, Gerontology, Social Determinants of Health/Poverty

Janiece L. Taylor, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN
Assistant Professor
Phone: 443-287-4503
Email: jwalke90@jhu.edu
Research areas: Minority aging; pain; women's health

Jennifer Wenzel, PhD, RN, CCM, FAAN
Associate Professor
Phone: 410-502-1114
Email: jwenzel@jhu.edu
Research areas: Oncology, health disparities, health services research; managed care, case management, treatment decision making; computer-assisted qualitative data analysis

Rebecca J. Wright, PhD, BSC (HONS)
Assistant Professor
Phone: 410-955-7763
Email: rebecca.wright@jhu.edu
Research Areas: Palliative and end-of-life care; wound care; dementia; geriatrics; family caregivers; health care experiences and service design

TRAINEES

Jamie M. Smith
Postdoctoral Research Fellow,  Health Services and Outcomes Research T32 Fellowship Program
Smith’s research is informed by nearly two-decades as a registered nurse working in clinical care, policy, and education. Her current work will examine how structural and social determinants influence access to home health care for older adults with dementia. Smith earned her PhD at Rutgers University, School of Nursing, where she was a Jonas Nurse Scholar. Smith’s long-term goal is to develop a meaningful research program that informs equitable care delivery for older adults with complex needs to maintain their independence and quality of life.

Mary Louise Pomeroy
Postdoctoral Research Fellow,  Health Services and Outcomes Research T32 Fellowship Program
Mary Louise received her MPH from Johns Hopkins University in 2017 and her PhD in health services research from George Mason University in 2022. Her research areas include social isolation, long-term services and supports, and suboptimal health care utilization among aging populations. Her current work leverages national longitudinal datasets to examine mechanisms that may enhance social support to reduce nursing home placement.
 

CORE FACULTY

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Emily Agree, PhD
• Michelle Carlson, PhD
• Melissa A. Davey- Rothwell, PhD
• Joseph Gallo, MD, MPH
• Michael Gibbons, MD, MPH
• Alden Gross, PhD
• Susan M. Hannum, PhD
• Frank R. Lin, MD
• George Rebok, PhD
• Adam Spira, PhD
• Roland Thorpe, PhD
• Jennifer Wolff, PhD

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

• Marilyn S. Albert, PhD
• Alicia I. Arbaje, MD, MPH
• Betty Black, PdD
• Cynthia Boyd, MD
• Samuel Christopher Durso, MD
• Jennifer A. Haythornthwaite, MA, PhD
• Jin Hui Joo, MA, MD
• Bruce Leff, MD
• Kostas Lykestos, MD
• Susan Magsamen, MD
• Chiadikaobi Onyike, MBBS, MD
• Peter V. Rabins
• Paul Rosenberg, MD
• David L. Roth, PhD
• Pradeep Ramulu, MD, PhD
• Quincy Samus, PhD
• Deidre Johnston, MBB.Ch, MD
• Jeremy D. Walston, PhD

Department of Psychiatry

• Paul Rosenberg

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School

• Kevin Frick, PhD