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Implementation Science & Aging Research (ISAR) Special Interest Group

Welcome to the Implementation Science & Aging Research (ISAR) Special Interest Group. ISAR welcomes researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in using dissemination and implementation science to improve the health and lives of older adults and their caregivers.

About ISAR

ISAR was founded in 2019 after four alums of the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program chatted over dinner about the lack of people interested in implementation science and aging research. They discussed the need for more people to become interested in the intersection of implementation science and aging research and that there needed to be a way for everyone to learn about each other and collaborate.

Bridging Two Fields

Thus, the Implementation Science and Aging Research Special Interest Group (ISAR) was born.

Soon after, ISAR held its first activity at the 2019 NIH/AcademyHealth Annual D&I Meeting. Through word-of-mouth, the founders were able to convince 22 people to attend a 7:30am meeting based solely on the promise they would meet others interested in implementation science and aging research. At that meeting, it was decided that to help build this network, ISAR would create a website, Twitter account, and send out a quarterly newsletter about implementation science and aging research.

During the first year, ISAR went from 22 members to over 100, and in December 2020, ISAR held its second annual meeting during the D&I Conference - virtually this time, due to the pandemic.

At the 2020 meeting, reflecting on its first year of existence, ISAR members expressed enthusiasm for the rapidly growing network and brainstormed ways to improve ISAR's reach and effectiveness. Improvements to come out of that meeting included:

  • Establishing a leadership structure consisting of three co-conveners (see the Leadership page)
  • Creating a new website (hi!) where members could interact with one another (see Members Portal)
  • Creating a quarterly seminar series so members could learn about each others' work, get feedback on their work, and learn about opportunities in the field (see the Seminar Series page)
  • Focusing on engaging other organizations, such as the Gerontological Society of America, both to encourage folks to join ISAR and to introduce implementation science to the aging field.

As we work on these improvements, we continue to produce a quarterly newsletter and have our annual meeting, coinciding with the annual D&I meeting in December.

We are excited about the future of ISAR and of the growth at the intersection of implementation science and aging research! Please take a look around the site, sign up (for free!) as a member, and get in touch with us!

ISAR CO-CONVENERS

ISAR is not affiliated with any organization and is completely run by volunteers, out of the goodness of their hearts. The co-conveners each serve two year terms, with one convener rotating off every year, so that there is always sustained institutional knowledge. As implementation scientists, we know how important this is.

BETH PRUSACZYK, PHD, MSW

Headshot of Beth Prusaczyk

Instructor
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Beth is the founder of ISAR and some might say the original convener. When she is not building ISAR, she is a faculty member at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where her research focuses on using implementation science to improve the lives of vulnerable older adults, such as those with dementia living in rural areas, with a specific interest in using systems science and health IT to inform and speed that implementation.

KATY ABBOT, PHD, MGS

Katherine Abbott headshot

Associate Professor of Gerontology
Miami University, Oxford, OH

Dr. Katy Abbott is an Associate Professor of Gerontology and a Scripps Gerontology Center Research Fellow at Miami University in Oxford, OH. Her research and teaching focuses on preference-based person-centered care and the social networks and health of older adults receiving long-term services and supports. She is the co-founder of Preference Based Living, whose mission is to conduct studies that build understanding of individual preferences and test innovative methods to honor preferences for people receiving long-term services and supports. Katy is also a Certified Zentangle Teacher and lives in Oxford with her husband, also an MGS grad, and their daughter, Mia.

JENNY SULLIVAN, PHD

Headshot of Jenny Sullivan

Investigator
Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at VA Boston Healthcare System
Research Associate Professor
Boston University School of Public Health

Dr. Jenny Sullivan (she/her) is a Gerontologist and an Investigator at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at VA Boston Healthcare System. She is an affiliated investigator at New England Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) and the Long Term Service and Support (LTSS) Center of Innovation in Providence. Dr. Sullivan is a Research Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. The core area of Dr. Sullivan’s research has been assessing implementation and quality of institutional and noninstitutional LTSS in VA. More recently she has also been focused on development and implementation of community-based suicide preventions for elders focused on interpersonal factors.

Members

  • KATY ABBOTT, Ph.D., MGS
    • Associate Professor of Gerontology
    • Miami University, Scripps Gerontology Center
    • abbottkm@miamioh.edu
  • LOUANNE BAKK, Ph.D., MSW
    • Clinical Associate Professor and DSW Program Director
    • University of Buffalo School of Social Work
    • louanneb@buffalo.edu
  • CYNTHIA S. BELL, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
    • Professor and Chair, Occupational Therapy
    • Winston-Salem State University
    • bellcs@wssu.edu
  • EMILY BALOG, Ph.D., OTR/L
    • Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy Program
    • Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences, School of Health Professions
    • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    • emily.balog@rutgers.edu
  • LIZA L. BEHRENS, Ph.D., RN
    • Assistant Professor, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
    • Penn State University
    • LLB237@psu.edu
  • JULIE BOBITT, Ph.D.
    • Assistant Professor
    • Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science, University of Illinois at Chicago
    • jbobitt@uic.edu
  • PAMELA BOLTON, MS, ACNPC, CCNS, CCRN, PCCN, FAANP, RN
  • MARIE BOLTZ, Ph.D., GNP-BC, FAAN
    • Professor and Elouise Ross Eberly and Robert Eberly Endowed Chair
    • Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing
    • mpb40@psu.edu
  • LISA BRANNACK, DNP, FNP-BC, AGPCNP-BC, JD, MPH, MADR
  • THEKLA BRUNKERT, Ph.D., PT
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
    • Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, University of Manitoba, Canada
    • Institute of Nursing Science, Department of Public Health, University of Basel, Switzerland
    • thekla.brunkert@unibas.ch
  • ROBERT E. BURKE, MD, MS
  • VANESSA BURSHNIC, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
    • Advanced Fellow in Geriatrics
    • Durham VA Medical Center, Geriatric, Research, Education, and Clinical Center
    • vanessa.burshnic@duke.edu
  • KATE CALLAHAN, MD, MS
  • CHRISTOPHER CARPENTER, MD, MSC
    • Professor of Emergency Medicine
    • Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine,
    • Department of Emergency Medicine
    • carpenterc@wustl.edu
  • JOAN CARPENTER, Ph.D., CRNP, ACHPN
  • DEVON CHECK, Ph.D.
    • Assistant Professor
    • Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Population Health Sciences
    • devon.check@duke.edu
  • LISA DIMARTINO, Ph.D., MPH
  • MARY A. DOLANSKY, Ph.D., RN, FAA
    • Sarah C. Hirsh Professorship in Nursing
    • Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
    • Case Western Reserve University
    • mary.dolansky@case.edu
  • NATALIE DOUGLAS, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
    • Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
    • Central Michigan University
    • natalie.douglas@cmich.edu
  • BETH FIELDS, Ph.D., OTR/L, BCG
  • SHAWNA FLEMING, MSC, BCBA
  • OSCAR FLORES-FLORES, MD, MSC
    • Associate Researcher
    • Centro de Investigación del Envejecimiento (CIEN) - Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad de San Martín de Porres. Lima, Peru
    • ofloresf@usmp.pe
  • JOSEPH GAUGLER, Ph.D.
    • Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care and Aging, Professor
    • University of Minnesota
    • gaug0015@umn.edu
  • LYN GOLDBERG, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
  • ALLISON GUSTAVSON, DPT, Ph.D.
  • STACEY D. GUY, MSOCSCI, Ph.D.-C
    • Implementation Specialist
    • Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, Baycrest Health Sciences
    • sguy@cabhi.com
  • SHANELL HILL, MSN, RN, CNE 
    • Nursing Ph.D. Student; Sarah C. Hirsh Fellow
    • Case Western Reserve University
    • sxh1050@case.edu
  • JAIME M. HUGHES, Ph.D., MPH, MSW
    • Assistant Professor,
    • Department of Implementation Science, Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
    • Wake Forest School of Medicine
    • Research Investigator, Health Services Research & Development, Durham VA Health Care System
    • jhughes@wakehealth.edu
  • SHANNON E. JARROTT, Ph.D.
  • LISA A. JUCKETT, Ph.D., OTR/L, CHT
  • AUDREY KELEMAN, MSOT, OTR/L
  • JENNIFER LEEMAN, DRPH, Mp
  • AARON LEPPIN, MD, MS
  • RYAN MACE 
    • Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow
    • Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
    • rmace@mgh.harvard.edu
  • CAROLINE MADRIGAL, Ph.D., RN
  • NIDHI MAHENDRA, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
  • KATIE MCAULIFF, MA, Ph.D. 
  • CATE MCCARTY, Ph.D., MA
  • CARA MCDERMOTT, PHARMD, Ph.D.
    • Instructor of Medicine
    • University of Washington School of Medicine
    • clm2@uw.edu
  • JOHN MCHUGH, Ph.D., MBA
    • Assistant Professor
    • Columbia University
    • Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management
    • jpm2192@cumc.columbia.edu
  • HEATHER MENNE, Ph.D.
  • WHITNEY L. MILLS, Ph.D.
    • Investigator, Center for Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports, Providence VA Medical Center
    • Assistant Professor (Research), Brown University, Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice
    • Whitney.Mills@va.gov
  • KATHRYN NEARING, Ph.D., MA
    • Associate Director for Education and Evaluation, Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Aurora, CO
    • Assistant Professor, pision of Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine,
    • University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
    • kathryn.nearing@cuanschutz.edu
  • AMANDA NICKLAS, RN, MSN
    • Graduate Research Assistant, Pathways Project
    • Ph.D. Student in Translational Health Sciences
    • The George Washington University
    • anicklas@email.gwu.edu
  • FRANCESCA NICOSIA, Ph.D., C-IAYT
    • Assistant ProfessorInstitute for Health & Aging, University of California, San Francisco
    • Investigator, Integrative Health, San Francisco VA Health Care System
    • Francesca.Nicosia@ucsf.edu
  • JEN OSHITA, MS, CCC-SLP 
  • BETH PRUSACZYK, Ph.D., MSW
  • ERIC J. ROSEEN, DC, MSC
    • Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
    • Boston University, Boston Medical Center
    • Eric.Roseen@bmc.org
  • AVANTIKA SARAF SHAH, MPH
  • LORI SIMON-RUSINOWITZ, MPH, Ph.D.
    • University of Maryland School of Public Health
    • lasr@umd.edu
  • JULIA SHEFFLER, Ph.D
  • SHERRI SMITH, AUD, Ph.D., CCC-A
    • Associate Professor, Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences
    • Duke University
    • sherri.smith@duke.edu
  • JENNIFER SULLIVAN, Ph.D.
    • Acting Associate Director, Manager of the Quantitative Analyst Unit, and Investigator at Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research,
    • VA Boston Healthcare System
    • Research Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
    • Jennifer.Sullivan@va.gov
  • VIRGINIA SUN, Ph.D., RN
  • PARISA TEHRANIFAR, DRPH
  • KALI THOMAS, Ph.D.
  • MARK TOLES, Ph.D., RN
    • Associate Professor
    • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing
    • mtoles@email.unc.edu
  • EMILY TOOLEY, LMSW
  • PAMELA TOTO, Ph.D., OTR/L, BCG, FAOTA, FGSA
  • RENE UTIANSKI, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
  • ELLEN J. I. VAN DONGEN, Ph.D.
  • KIMBERLY VAN HAITSMA, Ph.D.
  • CLARE VIGLIONE, MPH, RD
  • JENNIFER L. VINCENZO, Ph.D., MPH, PT
    • Associate Professor
    • Department of Physical Therapy and pision of Geriatrics
    • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
    • jlvincenzo@uams.edu
  • RYAN WALSH, MSOT, OTR/L
  • JEN WEAVER, Ph.D., OTR/L, CBIS
  • JEFF WHITTLE, MD, MPH
    • Professor of Medicine,
    • Director of Health Services Research
    • Clement J Zablocki VA Medical Center,
    • Milwaukee, WI
    • Jeffrey.Whittle@va.gov
  • STEPHANIE WLADKOWSKI, Ph.D., LMSW, APHSW-C
  • XIAOLING XIANG, Ph.D., MSW
  • EDEN ZHU, MPA, BSC