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VA » Health Care » VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System » Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (EC-GRECC)

VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System

Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (EC-GRECC)

Eastern Colorado GRECC Team

9 February 2021

Leadership | Administration | Investigators | Fellows

Leadership

Robert S. Schwartz, MD: Title: Director, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Professor, Geriatric Medicine; Contact: robert.schwartz@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Hormone supplementation, exercise, diabetes/metabolism, cognition and clinical/translational research

Wendy M. Kohrt, PhD: Title: Associate Director for Research; Contact: wendy.kohrt@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC): NIH Common Fund initiative to establish a comprehensive map of the molecular responses to endurance and resistance exercise, with long-term goal of understanding mechanisms for health benefits of exercise. CU-AMC is one of seven Clinical Centers that will enroll 3000 participants.
— Bioenergetic and Metabolic Consequences of the Loss of Gonadal Function
— Novel Modifiers of Musculoskeletal Adaptations to Exercise

Kathryn Nearing, PhD, MA: Title: Associate Director, Education and Evaluation, VA Eastern Colorado GRECC; Assistant Professor, Geriatric Medicine; founder, coordinator and facilitator of the Older Veteran Engagement Team; Contact: kathryn.nearing@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Aging as a moderator of behavior change
— Rural Veteran health disparities
— Community-based Participatory Research, including stakeholder engagement
— Qualitative research (e.g., regarding patient and caregiver experience)
— Innovative approaches to inclusion of diverse older adults in clinical trials
— Education, training and career development, including interprofessional education and training

Lauren Abbate, MD PhD: Title:
Associate Director, Clinical
Director, RMRVAMC Geriatric Emergency Department
Medical Director GeroFit
Former GRECC Advanced Research Fellow – Emergency Medicine; Contact: lauren.abbate@cuanschutz.edu | lauren.abbate@va.gov; Research Activities:
— Evidence-based exercise interventions for Veterans with knee osteoarthritis
— Non-pharmacological interventions for managing chronic diseases (specifically arthritis) in older adults

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Administration

Colleen Costello: Title: Administrative Officer; Contact: colleen.costello@va.gov

Karleen Stratton: Title: Administrative Support Assistant; Contact: Karleen.Stratton@va.gov

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Investigators

Michael Bade, PT, PhD: Title: Associate Professor, Physical Therapy; Contact: michael.bade@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Improving rehabilitation in individuals with degenerative joint disease or following joint arthroplasty

Emmy (Marian) Betz, MD: Title:
Director, Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative, Patient Centered Injury Prevention
Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine; Contact: marian.betz@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Innovative approaches in firearm injury prevention for Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and their caregivers, working collaboratively with affected communities to develop solutions that are tailored to the preferences and values of firearm owners
— Older driver safety and considerations about driving retirement

Cory Christiansen, PT PhD: Title: Professor, Physical Therapy; Contact: cory.christiansen@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Translational science focused on clinical trials for targeting biobehavioral and biomechanical mechanisms for physical function and activity in older adult populations with chronic health conditions (e.g., Physical Activity Behavior Change for Older Veterans after Dysvascular Amputation)
— Optimizing movement patterns for people with unilateral dysvascular amputation to prevent secondary pain problems

Marc Cornier, MD: Title: Professor, Endocrinology; Contact: marc.cornier@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Appetite Regulation in Older-Aged Obese Individuals

Russ Glasgow, PhD: Title:
Director, Dissemination and Implementation Science Program, Adult & Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research & Delivery Science at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
Research Professor of Family Medicine; Contact: russell.glasgow@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Chronic illness prevention and care models that can improve healthcare in the real world
— Original developer of RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance)

Michael Harris-Love, PT, MPT, DSc, FGSA: Title: Visiting Professor, CU Physical Therapy Program; Contact: Michael.Harris-Love@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Clinical trials involving participants with myopathy and neuromuscular disease within the NIH Intramural Research Program
— Developing viable methods of assessing muscle quality and employing innovative exercise interventions for those with sarcopenia.

Sean Iwamoto, MD: Title: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology
Former GRECC Advanced Research Fellow – Endocrinology; Contact:; Research Activities:
— Transgender health outcomes – specifically, effects of acute and chronic cross-sex hormone therapy (CSHT) on cardiometabolic risk factors, vascular endothelial function, medical/psychiatric comorbidities and morbidity/mortality among transgender veterans and older individuals compared to non-transgender (cisgender) people

Elizabeth Juarez-Colunga, PhD: Title: Associate Professor, Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health; Contact:; Research Activities:
— Models for data with dependencies at different levels including longitudinal and clustered data
— Models for repeated events
— Joint modeling of multiple outcomes
— Data with many zeros
— Modeling of epileptic seizures

Dwight Klemm, PhD: Title: Professor, Pulmonary Sciences; Contact: dwight.klemm@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Age- and Sex-associated Production of Adipocytes from Bone Marrow Stem Cells

Hillary Lum, MD, PhD: Title: Associate Professor, Geriatric Medicine; Contact: hillary.lum@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Patient-centered Outcomes Research to Support Diverse Communities with Advance Care Planning (including Advance care planning group visits; Advance care planning patient portal tools)
— Geriatric and Palliative Care Telehealth for Older Rural Veterans and their Caregivers
— Virtual Reality and Music Therapy in Hospitalized Palliative Care Patients
— Respite Use among Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease

Daniel Matlock, MD: Title: Associate Professor, Geriatric Medicine; Contact: daniel.matlock@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Shared Decision Making; Hospice Decision Aids
— Decision Aids for ICDs and LVADs
— Doctor-Patient Communication and Patient Engagement

Ed Melanson, PhD: Title: Professor, Endocrinology and Geriatric Medicine; Contact: ed.melanson@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Effects of Lifestyle Factors (physical activity, diet, and sleep) on Bioenergetics (energy and substrate metabolism, and physical activity), particularly related to Obesity and Aging
— Brown fat metabolism, specifically regulation by endogenous sex steroids

Kerrie Moreau, PhD: Title: Professor, Geriatric Medicine; Contact: kerrie.moreau@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Gonadal Regulation of Cardiovascular Aging and Vascular Contributions to Alzheimer’s Disease and its Related Dementias

Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, PT PhD: Title: Professor, Physical Therapy; Contact: jennifer.stevens-lapsley@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Improving Function in Older Veterans with Hospital-associated Deconditioning
— Improving Rehabilitation Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty
— Shifting Rehabilitation Paradigms in Skilled Nursing Facilities toward Higher-Intensity Rehabilitation

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Fellows

Jacob J. Capin, PT, DPT, MS, PhD candidate: Title: GRECC Advanced Research Fellow, Physical Therapy; Contact: jacob.capin@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Investigate prevention of osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases affecting people as they age, including our service Veterans

Teresa S Jones MD, MS FACS: Title: GRECC Advanced Research Fellow; Contact: teresa.jones@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Develop a home-based prehabilitation program for patients prior to surgery

Laura Swink, OTR, PhD: Title: GRECC Advanced Research Fellow – Occupational Therapy; Contact: laura.swink@cuanschutz.edu; Research Activities:
— Conduct a mixed-methods study that will identify changes in Veteran perceptions across the course of TKA rehabilitation related to: (1) barriers and facilitators of PA and (2) self-reported life participation and participation restrictions