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Meet the Team – Center for Equity in Aging

HISTORY

JHSON has been a leader in research focused on aging for more than two decades. The Center was initially launched as the Center for Innovative Care in Aging in 2011 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, JHSON launched the Center for Equity in Aging under the leadership of Dr. Katherine Ornstein in 2022.

MEET THE TEAM

CENTER DIRECTOR

Katherine Ornstein
Director, Center for Equity in Aging

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

Quincy M. Samus

PhD, MS, BA
Associate Director for Innovation, Center for Health Equity in Aging, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

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

Associate Director of Health Services Research

Kali Thomas

Kali Thomas

PhD, MA, BA
Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor in Aging and Community Health

Research Areas: Big Data, Dementia, Disaster Preparation, Gerontology, Health Policy, Loneliness, Military/Veteran’s Affairs, Public Health, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research Methods/Statistics, Social Determinants of Health, Transition of Care

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

RESEARCH TEAM

Samantha Curiero

Samantha Curriero, MPH

Sr. Research Program Coordinator
Rochelle Hall

Rochelle Hall, BS

Research Program Coordinator

DATA ANALYSTS

Hannah Charankevich

Hannah Charankevich, PhD

Sr. Research Data Analyst
Yifan Liu,

Yifan Liu, MS, MMed

Research Data Analyst

For analytic support, please contact [email protected].

STEERING COMMITTEE

Sarah Szanton

Sarah L. Szanton

PhD, MSN, BSN, BA, RN
ANP, APRN
FAAN
Dean
Kathryn McDonald

Kathryn McDonald

PhD, MM, BS
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Anna Beeber

Anna Beeber

PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
CNE
FAAN
Associate Dean, Faculty Development

PRINCIPAL FACULTY

Research areas: Heart failure, caregiving, quality of life, shared decision-making, and palliative care

Research areas: 

Adult Health, Aging, Genetics, Health Behavior, Interprofessional, Pain/Symptom Management, Palliative Care, Pulmonary, Quality Improvement

Anna Beeber

Anna Beeber

PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
CNE
FAAN
Associate Dean, Faculty Development

Research areas:  Aging, dementia, disparities, equity, gerontological / geriatric, gerontology, quality improvement, safety

Valerie Cotter

Valerie Cotter

DrNP, MSN, BSN, RN
AGPCNP-BC, APRN, CRNP
FAAN, FAANP

Research areas: Dementia; Alzheimer’s disease; aging

Rita D'Aoust

Rita Ferrari D’Aoust

PhD, MS, BSN, RN
ACNP, APN-BC, APRN, CNE
FAAN, FAANP, FNAP
Track Director, Post-Masters Nursing Education Certificate Program

Research areas:  Interprofessional education; underserved populations

Patricia M. Davidson

Patricia M. Davidson

PhD, MEd, BA, RN
Dean Emerita

Research Areas: Cardiovascular care, transitional care; underserved populations

Patrick Doyle, PhD 

Regional Vice President, Brightview Senior Living

Research areas: Dementia; assisted living care; aging

Jessica Gill

Jessica Gill

PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
FAAN
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor

Research areas: biological mechanisms of traumatic brain injuries, biological mechanisms of PTSD and depression

Research areas: Electronic Medical Records, Informatics

Hae-Ra Han

Hae-Ra Han

PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
FAAN

Research areas: chronic care, community, disparities, equity, health behavior, public health, social determinants of health

Bryan Hansen

Bryan Hansen

PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
ACNS-BC, APRN, APRN-CNS

Research areas: Dementia, aggressive behaviors, neuropsychiatric symptoms, elder abuse, caregiving, geropsychiatry, person-centered interventions, restraint/seclusion reduction

Melissa Hladek

Melissa Hladek

PhD, MSN, BSN, BS, RN
CRNP, FNP-BC

Research areas: Aging, Chronic Care, Vulnerable Populations

Binu Koirala

Binu Koirala

PhD, MGS, BSN, RN
FPCNA
FAAN

Research areas: Cardiovascular Health, Palliative Care, Care of People with Complex and Chronic Conditions

Research Areas: Aging, sleep, physical activity, cognition; person-centered dementia care

Research areas: Aging, Dementia, End of Life, Gerontology, Health Behavior, Public Health, Research Design, Transition of Care

Kathryn McDonald

Kathryn McDonald

PhD, MM, BS
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor

Research areas: Care Coordination, Chronic Care, Disparities, Equity, Health Policy, Integrated Health, Leadership/ Organizational Culture, Primary Care, Public Health, Quality Improvement, Safety, Transition of Care

Katherine Ornstein
Director, Center for Equity in Aging

Research areas:  Home-based primary and palliative care; dementia caregiving, hospice and palliative care delivery; long-term services and supports, health equity

Jeanine Parisi
Senior Scientist, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Research areas: Cognitive aging, prevention, lifestyle activities, personality, community-based interventions, public health

Craig Pollack

Craig Pollack

MD, MHS, MSc, BA
Katey Ayers Endowed Professor

Research areas: Community / Public Health, Disparities, Primary Care, Social Determinants of Health/Poverty, Vulnerable Populations

Research areas: Dementia-related restlessness, myriad problems resulting from the ambiguity of restlessness, including improperly-targeted behavioral interventions

Research areas: Socioeconomic status, neighborhoods, aging, chronic disease, health disparities, health promotion

Quincy Samus

Quincy M. Samus

PhD, MS, BA
Associate Director for Innovation, Center for Health Equity in Aging, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

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

Erin Spaulding

Erin Spaulding

PhD, BSN, RN
Associate Faculty at The Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research at Bloomberg School of Public Health

Research areas:  Acute/Critical Care, Adult Health, Aging, Cardiovascular, Chronic Care, Community, Equity, Health Technology

Sarah Szanton

Sarah L. Szanton

PhD, MSN, BSN, BA, RN
ANP, APRN
FAAN
Dean

Research areas: Aging, Health Disparities, Gerontology, Social Determinants of Health/Poverty

Kali Thomas

Kali Thomas

PhD, MA, BA
Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor in Aging and Community Health

Research Areas: Big Data, Dementia, Disaster Preparation, Gerontology, Health Policy, Loneliness, Military/Veteran’s Affairs, Public Health, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research Methods/Statistics, Social Determinants of Health, Transition of Care

Research areas: Minority aging; pain; women’s health

Jennifer A. Wenzel

Jennifer A. Wenzel

PhD, MS, BS, RN
CCM
FAAN
Director, PhD and Postdoctoral Programs

Research areas: Oncology, health disparities, health services research; managed care, case management, treatment decision making; computer-assisted qualitative data analysis

Research Areas: Palliative and end-of-life care; wound care; dementia; geriatrics; family caregivers; health care experiences and service design


TRAINEES

Yiqing Qian (

Yiqing Qian

Postdoctoral Fellow in Caregiving Science

Yiqing’s passion for caregiving science is driven by her training in public health and her lived experience. Yiqing received her PhD in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2023 and her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan in 2016. Her research areas include health disparities, sociocultural aspects of caregiving, and stress coping. Yiqing’s current work will explore national datasets to examine unmet needs of homebound older adults, trajectories of caregiving activities, and the heterogeneities across illness contexts and socio-demographic backgrounds.