UMass Boston

These colleagues, from gerontology and other academic disciplines and professional practice, pursue research related to advancing our understanding of the experience of aging.

Matthew Alcusky, PhD, PharmD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, UMass Chan Medical School
Epidemiology and pharmacotherapy in aging populations, health policy, Medicaid payment and delivery system reform, nursing home care
matthew.alcusky@umassmed.edu

Jaqueline Contrera Avila, PhD
Assistant Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Social determinants of older adult health, tobacco-related disparities among older adults, cross-national comparisons of health and aging
jaqueline.avila@umb.edu

Carolyne Arnold, PhD
Associate Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Public health
Carolyne.Arnold@umb.edu

Ellen Birchander, MS, MSW
Lecturer, Graduate Program Director of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Health and physical aspects of aging, social aspects of aging, psychology of aging
Ellen.Birchander@umb.edu

Kathrin Boerner
Head of Prevention and Rehabilitation Research, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg 
Adult development and aging, coping with chronic illness, end of life, bereavement

Ann Bookman Buehrens, PhD
Adjunct faculty, UMass Boston
ann.bookman@umb.edu

Ellen Bruce, JD
Former Associate Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
ellen.a.bruce@gmail.com

Natasha Bryant, MA
Senior Director of Workforce Research & Development, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston
nbryant@leadingage.org

Jeffrey Burr
Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Social demography of aging, household composition and living arrangements, race and ethnicity in aging populations, labor force participation in later life, productive activity in later life
jeffrey.burr@umb.edu

Verena Cimarolli, PhD
Director of Health Services Research and Partnerships, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston
Coping with chronic Illness, quality of care in nursing homes, family caregiving, Alzheimer's Disease and dementia care, LTSS workforce
vcimarolli@leadingage.org

Marc A. Cohen, PhD
Co-Director, Leading Age LTSS Center @UMass Boston
Research Director, Center for Consumer Engagement and Health System Transformation, Community Catalyst
Financing long-term services and supports, private long-term care insurance, fall prevention, service utilization patterns of disabled elders, family caregiving, care management and care transitions, managing long-term services and supports populations
marc.cohen@umb.edu

Caitlin Coyle, PhD
Director, Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, UMass Boston
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Social aspects of health and community living with a specific emphasis on social isolation among older adults, aging with lifelong disability, mixed methods
caitlin.coyle@umb.edu

Elizabeth Dugan, PhD
Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Driving/transportation and aging, health and aging, health politics and policy, aging and long-term care
beth.dugan@umb.edu

Len Fishman, JD
Former Director, Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston
Health policy, LTSS policy and management, leadership
len.fishman@umb.edu

Janice Foust, PhD, RN
Associate Professor of Nursing, UMass Boston
Post-hospital medication management, transitional care, gerontological nursing, inter-professional education
janice.foust@umb.edu

Priscilla Gazarian, PhD
Associate Professor of Nursing, UMass Boston
Preventable hospital harm, patient engagement, self-management, nurse decision-making, critical decision method
priscilla.gazarian@umb.edu

Lillian Glickman, PhD
Former Co-Director, Management of Aging Services program, UMass Boston
Aging services, management and career development
lillianglickman@aol.com

Alison S. Gottlieb, PhD
Health care disparities, aging and disability, long-term care workforce
alison.gottlieb@umb.edu

Laura L. Hayman, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAHA
Professor of Nursing, UMass Boston
Child and adolescent health, prevention of obesity and cardiovascular disease, health promotion across the life course, social and behavioral determinants of health
laura.hayman@umb.edu

Jennifer Hefele, PhD
Health Services Researcher, Booz Allen Hamilton
Long-term and post-acute care, healthcare for older adults, healthcare quality, patient experience/perspectives, and racial and ethnic disparities and equity
hefele_jennifer@bah.com

Joan Hyde, PhD
Researcher
Senior housing, assisted living, assistive technology, Alzheimer's disease and dementia care, long-term care policy
joan.hyde@umb.edu

William Jesdale, PhD
Assistant Professor of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School
Influence of social and environmental factors on health, Racial residential segregation, Discrimination, Spatial epidemiology, Place-based measures of the social environment, Gay men’s health, Working with large datasets
william.jesdale@umassmed.edu

Michael Johnson, PhD
Professor of Public Policy and Public Affairs, UMass Boston
Management science planning models for public-sector facility location and service delivery, with applications to assisted housing and senior services
michael.johnson@umb.edu

Helen Kerschner, PhD
President and CEO, Beverly Foundation
Driving/transportation and aging
hkerschner@beverlyfoundation.org

Kyungmin Kim, PhD
Assistant Professor of Child Development and Family Studies, Seoul National University, Korea
Associate Director, Advanced CEO Program for Well-Aging & Senior Business, Seoul, Korea
Generational family patterns and well-being, intergenerational relations, individual development
kyungmin.kim@snu.ac.kr

Kate Lapane, PhD
Professor of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School
Nursing home research, use of large administrative data sources for observational research, geriatric pharmacoepidemiology, advanced epidemiologic/statistical methods to reduce bias in observational studies, comparative effectiveness/safety studies
kate.lapane@umassmed.edu

Chae Man Lee, PhD
Healthcare Data Analyst, Center on Aging at University of Connecticut Health
Health disparities among racially ethnically diverse populations, community-based interventions/health promotion, age-friendly communities, driving safety and aging, quantitative analysis, GIS spatial analysis
chlee@uchc.edu

Haeok Lee, PhD, RN
Professor of Nursing, UMass Boston
Community-based research, health equity, population health, cancer prevention, dementia, health literacy, storytelling interventions, global health
haeok.lee@umb.edu

Suzanne Leveille, PhD, RN
Professor Emerita of Nursing, UMass Boston
Epidemiology of aging, disability and falls, chronic pain, gerontological nursing, research methods
suzanne.leveille@umb.edu

Kate Martin, MD, MPH, MBA, MS
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Intersection of aging and disabilities, intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, coordination of care, human-centered design
kate.martin@unlv.edu

Erin McGaffigan, PhD
Founder, Collective Insight
Consumer advisory committee practices, development of participant direction models, peer support strategies, cross-disability advocacy groups in policy design
erin@collectiveinsightllc.com

Edward A. Miller, PhD
Professor and Chair of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Federal and state policies affecting vulnerable populations (including frail and disabled older adults, mentally ill, veterans, and urban underserved), aging and long-term care, telemedicine, e-health
edward.miller@umb.edu

Michael Miller, MPP
Director of Strategic Policy, Community Catalyst
mmiller@communitycatalyst.org

Joann Montepare, PhD
Professor of Psychology, Director of Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies, Lasell University
Age-Friendly University (AFU) initiative, intergenerational teaching and learning, personal and social perception of aging  
jmontepare@lasell.edu

Jan Mutchler, PhD
Professor of Gerontology, Director of Gerontology Institute, UMass Boston
Diversity in aging populations, intergenerational support in later life, health disparities in later life, economic security, social demography of aging populations
jan.mutchler@umb.edu

Pamela Nadash, PhD
Associate Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Nursing home and home health care, long-term care funding/Medicaid, consumer-directed services in England
pamela.nadash@umb.edu

Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, PhD
Director, Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, UMass Boston
Intersectionality, social and health policy, diversity, equity and inclusion
la.nsiahjefferson@umb.edu

Sung Park, PhD
Assistant Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Minority aging, economic inequalities, work as a social determinant of health, caregiving, immigration, social demography
sung.park@umb.edu

Frank Porell, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Outcome-based quality indicators of nursing home performance measurement, profiling the disability risks of community elders, hospitalization of nursing home residents, market supply behavior of home healthcare agencies, long-run consequences of sentinel injuries on older adults
frank.porell@umb.edu

Patricia Rivard, MBA
Gerontology Consultant, UMass Boston
Home and community-based services and supports systems, performance measures and quality improvement in community-based settings, assessment and service plan development systems
pmrivard@aol.com

Jason Rodriquez, PhD
Associate Professor of Sociology, UMass Boston
Medical sociology, care work, work and occupations, health and aging, health services organizations, sociology of mental health, emotions, qualitative methodology
jason.rodriquez@umb.edu

Harmehr Sekhon, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Associate Scientist,  Collaborator Scientist, McGill University, St. Mary's Research Centre, Centre for Addictions and Mental Health
Technology interventions (virtual reality, robotics, sensors), randomized controlled trials (RCTs), mental health, older adults, dementia
harmehr.sekhon@mcgill.ca 

Penelope Shaw, PhD
Aging and disability advocate, writer and speaker
Lived experience of aging, disability, nursing home safety/quality/improvement, health environments, rights and empowerment, person-directed care, design barriers, age-friendly communities, economic insecurity
pennyshaw3@gmail.com

Xiamei Shi, MA
Senior Statistician, Matrix Health Network
Long-term care, health policy, health claim and health care assessment data
xiaomei.datainsight@gmail.com

Nina Silverstein, PhD
Professor Emerita of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Alzheimer's disease and dementia care, driving/transportation and aging, residential options/home and community-based long-term care
nina.silverstein@umb.edu

Qian Song, PhD
Assistant Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Health disparities in later life, social determinants of health, intersection of migration, families, institutional discrimination, and health
qian.song@umb.edu

Jeffrey Stokes, PhD
Assistant Professor of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Marriage and family, aging and life course, health and well-being, neighborhood effects, bereavement
jeffrey.stokes@umb.edu

Robyn Stone, DrPH
Senior Vice President of Research, LeadingAge, Co-Director, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston
Long-term services and supports policy; long-term services and supports workforce recruitment and retention; service-enriched affordable housing for older adults; nursing home culture change and quality; climate change and older adults
rstone@leadingage.org

Jane Tavares, PhD
Senior Research Fellow, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston
Working with large-scale representative panel data such as the HRS Study, social relationships and social participation associated with various aspects of health
jane.tavares@umb.edu

Eileen Tell, MPH
Principal and CEO, ET Consulting LLC
Long-term care
eileenjtell@gmail.com

Shuangshuang (Wendy) Wang, PhD
Gerontology Program Leader, Institute on Health Aging, Shandong University, China
Healthy aging; age- and dementia-friendly community development, transportation safety among older adults, family relations in later life, home-based medical care
sswang@live.com

Susan Whitbourne, PhD
Lecturer of Gerontology, UMass Boston
Personality and cognitive processes throughout adulthood, longitudinal study of personality from college through retirement
susan.whitbourne@umb.edu

Tongjian You, PhD
Professor and Chair of Exercise and Health Sciences, UMass Boston
Metabolic and physical dysfunctions associated with obesity and aging, lifestyle interventions through physical exercise, mind-body exercise, new technology
tongjian.you@umb.edu

Yiyang Yuan, PhD, MPH, MS
Assistant Professor of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School
physical frailty, cognitive impairment, and depressive symptoms among older adults; heterogeneities and trajectories of aging-related conditions
yiyang.yuan@umassmed.edu

Lingling Zhang, ScD, FAMIA
Associate Professor of Nursing, UMass Boston
Health equity, health care delivery system, technology-enabled health interventions, aging and quality of fife, cognitive health, human resources for health, community health, quality of care
lingling.zhang@umb.edu