Roy G. Smith, Ph.D., Director, HCOA, and Professor, Departments of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Medicine. Dr. Smith oversees all Center activities and sits on the Academic Council governing Baylor's educational programs. Dr. Smith also directs his own laboratory conducting research in the function of the orphan growth hormone secretagogue receptor. This research is focused on the prevention of frailty in the elderly and inhibiting age-related changes in cognitive functions. His research interests include the molecular mechanisms relating to aging, age-related neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. rsmith@bcm.tmc.edu
Carole Ashendorf, LMSW Instructor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine; Social Worker, Geriatric Medicine Associates. Ms. Ashendorf provides support and education for patients and families at GMA. She also serves as a mentor and supervisor for social work interns from the University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work. At Holly Hall Retirement Center, Ms. Ashendorf provides education and training in geriatric issues to the nursing staff. carole_ashendorf%7988317@fax.bcm.tmc.edu
Kathy Ponchak Clifton, Secretary, GMA. kponchak@bcm.tmc.edu kponchak@bcm.tmc.edu
Ursula Braun, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Geriatrics Section; Section of Health Services Research at the VAMC; Affiliate with the Southwest MIRECC; HCOA Faculty Associate. Dr. Braun completed her fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and is a geriatrician at the VA Extended Care Line. As a fellow her research was supported by an AFAR fellowship (One Session cognitive behavioral therapy for elderly patients with COPD). Her current research is supported by a AGS/Pfizer Foundation for Health in Aging Postdoctoral Fellowship Award for Health Outcomes Research in Geriatrics and focuses on improving the decision-making process for end-of-life care and the quality of end-of-life care, particularly in dementia patients
Gretchen Darlington, PhD, Professor, Department of
Pathology; HCOA Faculty Associate. Gretchen Darlington's laboratory carries out basic
research studies that address the mechanisms by which differentiated cells of the liver
proliferate. Liver cells are capable of regenerating in young animals, but this capacity
is greatly reduced in older individuals. Dr. Darlington also directs a NIA sponsored
training grant that educates predoctoral and postdoctoral students in methods of
scientific investigation in the field of aging.
Ronald L. Davis, PhD Professor, Department of Cell Biology; HCOA Faculty Associate. Dr. Davis studies the molecular and genetic mechanisms that underlie learning and memory. The decline in memory that is often associated with aging is a problem of paramount importance. Dr. Davis hopes that his studies to discover the molecules involved in learning and memory will ultimately help understand the relationship between cognitive ability and aging. rdavis@bcm.tmc.edu
Judy Farness, MSN, RN, GNP, Assistant Professor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine; Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Geriatric Medicine Associates; HCOA Faculty Associate. Ms. Farness provides primary care to clinic, home-bound and nursing facility patients. Ms. Farness' role also includes education of the physicians in training and other health professional students that rotate through the clinic. Her special areas of interest are mobility and falls in older adults and problems related to dementing illnesses. jfarness@bcm.tmc.edu
Aimee Garcia, MD, Assistant Professor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine, and Director, Geriatrics Fellowship Program. Dr. Garcia sees patients at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, teaches housestaff and oversees the Fellows. Her special areas of interest are wound care and geriatrics education. (Click on Fellows then on Biosketch to read more about Dr. Garcia.) aimeeg@bcm.tmc.edu
Edith Gibson, Administrative Coordinator, HCOA. Ms. Gibson is the assistant to Dr. Roy Smith, Director. egibson@bcm.tmc.edu
Mehrnaz S. Gill, MS, TCGEC Distance Learning Coordinator. Ms. Gill is responsible for finding online educational programs and materials in the areas of geriatrics and gerontology for medical professionals and students and recruiting them into The TCGEC's Professional Development Program. mgill@bcm.tmc.edu
Robert J. Luchi, MD, Professor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine; Dr. Luchi serves as the Principal Investigator on numerous grants and oversees the clinical training of the Center. Dr. Luchi is actively involved in the clinical practice of GMA. He sees private patients at Baylor College of Medicine's GMA and treats in-patients at The Methodist Hospital, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Diagnostic Hospital and St. Dominic Nursing Home. Dr. Luchi is the past and founding director of the Huffington Center on Aging, the Section of Geriatrics, and the John A. Hartford Foundation Center of Excellence in Geriatrics. rluchi@bcm.tmc.edu
Laurence B. McCullough, PhD Professor, Departments of Medicine, Community Medicine, and Medical Ethics; HCOA Faculty Associate. Dr. McCullough is a philosopher specializing in biomedical ethics. He is active in clinical teaching and consultation for medical students and residents at HVAMC and Texas Children's Hospital and engages in clinically based and theoretical scholarship on ethical issues across the lifespan. He leads the HCOA Ethics Research Group, which has focused on ethical and conceptual dimensions of long-term care decisions by elders and family members. The group is currently pilot testing an intervention to enhance the autonomy of elders in long-term care decisions and is planning a clinical trial of this intervention. mccullou@bcm.tmc.edu
Tonta M. Marchand, BS, Administrative Office Support Coordinator, assists faculty and administrators in a variety of areas instrumental to their research and teaching. tontam@bcm.tmc.edu
Estela E. Medrano, PhD, Professor, Department of Cell Biology; HCOA Faculty Associate. Benign and malignant pigmentary disorders in the skin increase with aging. Dr. Medrano's laboratory is focused in elucidating mechanisms involved in melanocyte senescence and malignant transformation. To study this, she is analyzing cell cycle regulatory genes and transcription factors which may be involved in the development of lesions such as lentigo senilis (aging spots), melanocytic nevi and malignant melanomas. medrano@bcm.tmc.edu
Debra Meyer, BA, is secretary to Drs. Darlington, Timchenko, Wu, and Zheng; she also coordinates the HCOA Biology of Aging Seminar Series. dlm@bcm.tmc.edu
Victor Narcisse, MD, is Assistant Professor, Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine. He sees patients as a member of the Geriatrics Medicine Associates. narcisse@bcm.tmc.edu
S. Robert Northrup, BA, Manager of Research Operations and Research Associate, is responsible for negotiating and purchasing scientific equipment, allocating space, enforcing safety policies and procedures, and designing experiments. He also leads scheduled tours of research laboratories, translating basic science studies into lay terms. Mr. Northrup's healthy lifestyle includes mountain climbing, road and mountain biking, swimming, and ultra running. He recently ran 141 miles of the Houston to Austin MS-150 bike ride to raise money for research. northrup@bcm.tmc.edu
Scott Pletcher, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Molecular Genetics. The broad objective of Dr. Pletcher’s laboratory is to identify and analyze genetic mechanisms of aging that are likely to be important in humans, by focusing on equivalent, conserved processes in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. One particular area of investigation is dietary restriction (also called caloric restriction), where aging is slowed by exposing experimental animals to a reduced-calorie environment. pletcher@bcm.tmc.edu
Robert E. Reichlin, Ph.D., Faculty Associate, is a geropsychologist in private practice in Houston, Texas. gerodoc@swbell.net
Robert E. Roush, EdD, MPH Director, Texas Consortium of Geriatric Education Centers; Associate Professor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine; HCOA Faculty Associate. Dr. Roush oversees a statewide consortium providing geriatrics education to Texas health professionals. He also teaches Geriatrics Fellows to be better teachers, coordinates continuing education programs, and produces the Arts in Aging Calendar. Additionally, Dr. Roush acts as HCOA Webmaster. Dr. Roush recently completed a three-year term as President of the National Association of Geriatric Education Centers. Click here for CV. Representative
Publications:
1) Roush RE, Teasdale TA. Personal emergency response
systems. The New England Journal of Medicine 1996;335(21):1612.
Sarah E. Selleck, MD, Assistant Professor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine. Dr. Selleck is a physician educator with the clinical practice of Geriatric Medicine Associates and sees inpatients at The Methodist and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospitals. She sees outpatients in their homes and area long-term care facilities. Her special area of interest is end-of-life care. sselleck@bcm.tmc.edu
Robert Glenn Smith, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor,
Department of Neurology; HCOA Faculty Associate. Dr. Smith is a Paul Beeson Physician
Faculty Scholar in Aging Research. His research focuses on the development, normal
senescence, and abnormal degeneration of the nervous system. Through clinical research, he
is trying to understand the processes involved in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerois (ALS) or
Lou Gehrig's Disease. Dr. Smith has made significant contributions to Alzheimer's Disease
research.
Carolyn G. Stubbs, Administrative Coordinator, assists with development activities and with special events. cstubbs@bcm.tmc.edu
George E. Taffet, MD Associate Professor & Chief, Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, and Section of Cardiovascular Sciences; Director, John A. Hartford Foundation Center of Excellence; HCOA Faculty Associate. Dr. Taffet's primary area of research is the impaired cardiac relaxation of senescence. This problem is being explored with biochemical, molecular and physiologic techniques in rats and normal and transgenic mice. won@hcoa.org
Nikolai Timchenko, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology; HCOA Core Faculty. Nikolai Timchenko studies molecular mechanisms that control hepatocyte growth and differentiation. Role of RNA binding proteins and transcription factors in aging associated alterations of cell cycle progression is the focus of his investigations. nikolait@bcm.tmc.edu
Jordan Train, MD graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1988 and completed his residency training in internal medicine at Emory University, Atlanta in 1991. After 9 years in private practice as a hospitalist and medical informatics consultant, Dr. Train joined the Houston VA geriatric service. Dr. Train is the medical director for the Houston VA Medical Center's Home Based Primary Care Program. He developed and obtained research funding for the Houston VA's telemedicine home care project which brings Medical Center technology to elderly home-bound patients. Dr. Train also teaches medical students as an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine. train..jordan_d@med.va.gov
Patricia White, HCOA Administrator. Ms. White is responsible for planning and directing the administrative business functions of the center. She works closely with the Director, Faculty Associates, staff, and trainees at HCOA in pre- and post-grant and contract management. pwhite@bcm.tmc.edu
Susan Williams, MD, is Assistant Professor, Section of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine. She sees patients as a member of the Geriatrics Medicine Associates. spw@bcm.tmc.edu
Nancy L. Wilson, MA, LMSW Assistant Director for Program Development, HCOA; Assistant Professor, Geriatrics Section, Departments of Medicine and Medical Ethics; Project Director, Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Initiative; HCOA Faculty Associate. Ms. Wilson is a gerontological social worker who is interested in training health care professionals of all disciplines to provide comprehensive geriatric care. Her primary research activities are related to community-based long-term care including ethical aspects of care and service delivery to elders and families coping with dementia. nwilson@bcm.tmc.edu
Anita
Woods, PhD Assistant Professor, Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine;
Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine; Associate Project
Director of the Geriatrics in Primary Care Residency Training Initiative; HCOA Faculty
Associate. Dr. Woods has made major contributions to the education and training of health
care professionals in geriatrics and gerontology. Her primary areas of interest are mental
health and cognitive functioning from middle adulthood through advanced old age and
interdisciplinary team training in the delivery of comprehensive health care services for
the aged and their families.
Xiangwei Wu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology; HCOA Core Faculty. The research projects in Dr. Xiangwei Wu's laboratory are designed to elucidate the function of the tumor suppressor p53 in cell cycle checkpoint control and identification of factors involved in this process. One area of investigation focuses on the post-translational modification of p53, including phosphorylation and acetylation, and how this may affect ubiquitination and degradation, an essential determinant in p53¹s ability to mediate its function. To address how p53 induces cell death by apoptosis, a new putative zinc finger transcription factor Pw1/Peg3 was identified that acts as a potential mediator in p53-dependent apoptosis. The focus of the research is on how p53 and Pw1/Peg3 induce changes in the mitochondria as a critical step in p53-mediated cell death pathway. xiangwei@bcm.tmc.edu
Hui Zheng, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics; HCOA Core Faculty. Dr. Zheng's research focuses on identifying targets that can be exploited for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer' s disease (AD). AD is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with cognitive impairment and memory loss. It is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. Dr. Zheng's laboratory is identifying and characterizing AD related genes and pathways in vivo using transgenic and gene knockout technologies. Three genes have been identified that are genetically linked to AD. These are the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins (PS1 and PS2). Mutations in these genes lead to early onset of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Zheng's laboratory created knockout mice that are deficient in APP or PS1, as well as transgenic mice expressing human APP or PS1 containing mutations that are associated with early onset AD. APP knockout mice are viable but exhibit learning and memory defects. Deletion of PS1 in mice results in embryonic or newborn death, a phenotype that can be rescued by neuronal expression of human PS1. APP transgenic mice develop AD pathology, which is accelerated by PS1 mutations. Analysis of the mice has provided important information regarding the physiological functions of APP and PS1 as well as the pathological mechanisms of disease-causing mutations. Dr. Zheng continues to use mouse genetic approaches to seek further understanding of AD pathogenesis in vivo. This understanding will be critically important for the prevention and treatment of this devastating disease of aging. huiz@bcm.tmc.edu
Lynn C. Yeoman, Ph.D. A Faculty Associate of Baylor’s Huffington Center on Aging, he is also a Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine. In addition, Dr. Yeoman is Director of the College’s Integrated Problem Solving (IPS) course and the Curriculum Database Program, and Executive Director of the College’s Education Resource Center. Dr. Yeoman currently serves as Chairman of the CATCHUM Project’s Problem-based Learning Task Force, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded program in cancer prevention education at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, and Chairman of the United States Pharmacopeia’s (USP’s) Committee of Experts on Biotechnology and Natural Therapeutics. yeoman@bcm.tmc.edu |
History Affiliated
Clinical Activities Core Center
Activities Faculty & Staff Roy G. Smith, PhD, Director
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This page was last updated on 21 Jun 2005