Our Team

Leads

Yale School of Medicine

Yale Medicine

Drs Leo Cooney & Mary Tinetti, The Adler Center

Mary Tinetti, MD

Mary Tinetti, MD, is the Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Chief of Geriatrics at Yale School of Medicine. In her earlier work, she identified the causes, adverse consequences, and effective prevention of fall injuries in older adults and translated these findings into clinical and public health practice. Her current focus is on clinical decision-making and healthcare for older adults in the face of multiple health conditions, measuring the net benefit and harms of commonly used medications, and the importance of patient-reported and personal health outcomes. She also is leading a national effort to develop, test, and disseminate an approach to decision-making and healthcare that realigns primary and specialty care to focus on the health outcome goals and care preferences of older adults with multiple and complex health needs. She has over 250 publications. Dr. Tinetti received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan. She provides care to older adults at Yale New Haven Hospital. She is the recipient of numerous awards and served on several national advisory committees including for the NIH, FDA, NQF, and NCQA. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, a recent member of the Methodology Committee of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and is a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. She was an Atlantic Philanthropies Health and Aging Policy fellow at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which nourished her interest in healthcare innovations.

Caroline Blaum, MD, MS

Caroline S. Blaum, MD, MS, is the Diane and Arthur Belfer Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Director of the Division of Geriatrics at NYU School of Medicine. Before joining NYU she was Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Michigan where she led Medical Home and ACO efforts. Dr. Blaum has an active research program in translational research that has been supported by the NIA, AHRQ, the VARR&D, The John A. Hartford Foundation and PCORI concerning models of care, complex patients, frailty, and diabetes in older adults. Dr. Blaum is active in national policy work related to delivery system redesign and quality of care for patients with multiple chronic conditions. She was the Inaugural Chair of AGS’s Quality Performance and Measurement Committee and recently co-chaired the NQF Steering Committee to Develop a Framework for Quality Measurement for Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions. She maintains an active Geriatrics practice at NYU and teaches geriatrics to medical students and residents.

Aanand Naik, MD

Aanand D. Naik, MD is professor of public health and medicine (geriatrics) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). He is the Nancy P. and Vincent F. Guinee, MD distinguished chair and executive director of the UTHealth Consortium on Aging. He also serves as a department chair at the UT School of Public Health and a senior researcher at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Dr. Naik received his medical degree and residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He has expertise in population health systems with a focus on improving shared decision making and health outcomes for older adults with multiple morbid conditions. Dr. Naik’s research program includes randomized clinical trials, implementation science studies, and primary data collection of patients’ experiences and decision making with healthcare supported by federal and foundation funding. Dr. Naik leads geriatrics education, innovations, and scholarship with the UTHealth Consortium on Aging and the Southeast Texas Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. Dr. Naik directs dissemination and evaluation of Patient Priorities Care programs throughout the national Veterans Health Administration. His professional responsibilities also include supervision of education and research efforts in management, health services research, community health practice at the UT School of Public Health.

Lilian Dindo, PhD

Lilian Dindo, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Section of Health Services Research at Baylor College of Medicine. She is also a research health scientist at the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety at the Michael E DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Lilian Dindo earned a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Iowa, completed her internship at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and then completed a fellowship at the Iowa Depression and Clinical Research Center. She also obtained a graduate certificate in clinical and translational investigation. Her clinical and research work has been focused on 1) developing innovative and pragmatic behavioral interventions aimed at improving the mental health and functioning of patients with chronic health problems – with a particular focus on acceptance and commitment therapy as the treatment approach; and 2) identifying the psychological mechanisms of action in effective treatments. She runs workshops for patients with multiple morbidities to help them learn new ways to cope with their difficulties and improve their quality of life. She is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health, Veterans Health Administration, and Office of Rural Health to study these questions.

Funders

This work is generously funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. We have also received support through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.