I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. During middle school, I spent my summer breaks volunteering in the nursing home where my mom worked, which inspired my interest in aging and geriatric medicine. Many years later, as a fellow in geriatric medicine at Duke Health, I returned to that same nursing home to care for its residents. Now, as a memory disorders specialist, geriatric medicine specialist, and physician-scientist, my goal is to provide the highest quality medical care to my patients, centered on their individual values and preferences, while working to develop interventions that maintain their cognition and quality of life. I enjoy building a collaborative relationship with my patients and their loved ones and working with them to develop a personalized, holistic approach to their memory care.
Biological aging is the greatest risk factor for most chronic diseases, including frailty and dementia. The geroscience hypothesis posits that interventions that target aspects of biological aging may delay or prevent many of these diseases simultaneously. My research centers on understanding the mechanisms of interventions that affect biological aging, like exercise training and caloric restriction and using that understanding to develop therapies that maintain cognitive and physical function in older adults.
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This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies or institutions listed below. This information has been reported to the health system leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.
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