Midcareer Development Award in Neuroaging and Geriatric Pharmacoepidemiology Research

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Dr. Willis is a neurologist, neuroepidemiologist, and health services researcher who has established a nationally- and internationally- recognized, independently funded research program committed to patient-oriented research focused on drug effects, care process and outcome disparities, and health service use in older adults with neurological disease. She has a successful record in mentoring trainees who approach POR from multiple educational backgrounds. Proposal aims: (1) to conduct analytical epidemiology research examining the impact of prescribing practices, drug exposures, drug-drug and drug-disease interactions on clinical, patient-reported and health care utilization outcomes in older adults, particularly those with Parkinson Disease + Dementia; Dementia with Lewy Bodies (which together comprise Lewy Body Dementia, an Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementia/ADRD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Mild cognitive impairment and chronic neurological disease; (2) to conduct health disparities and health services research in older adults with neurological disease, particularly those with the above ADRDs and AD, to gain actionable insights into systematic barriers to equal care; (3a) to develop new studies at the intersection of aging, neurology, and pharmacoepidemiology focused on the biological, clinical, and qualitative effects of deprescribing and safety-guided CNS drug prescribing on cognitive function and cognitive decline in individuals with the above ADRDs, AD, and MCI; (3b) to develop new studies at the intersection of aging, disparities, and health services research, focused on describing and decomposing the relative contributions of individual, neighborhood, and social factors on disparities in guideline adherent treatment initiation, escalation, and monitoring; treatment adherence and outcomes in older adults with neurological disease, including ADRDs and AD; (4) to use Dr. Willis’s research program to train and mentor new investigators in research methods that will improve health care outcomes for older adults with ADRDs, AD and chronic neurological disorders through neuroprotective prescribing, more effective and equitable care delivery. A K24 award will provide Dr. Willis with the protected time needed to develop new research focused on neuroprotective prescribing and health disparities, generate knowledge on the drivers and effects of medical care and drug therapies for neurological disorders. A K24 will also allow Dr. Willis to increase her mentoring expertise and develop a formal mentoring program for engaging young investigators drawn from neurology, epidemiology, geriatrics, psychiatry, pharmacology, informatics, and biostatistics. Dr. Willis’s mentoring program will (1) provide mentees with direct exposure to primary data collection and secondary data analysis (2) create an interdisciplinary environment where trainees from a range of specialties will learn directly from each other (3) provide mentees with individualized research and career mentoring from her. The outstanding institutional environment and the K24 Advisory Team Dr. Willis has assembled to monitor and guide her progress at the University of Pennsylvania support the success of this proposal.