William T. Hu
MD, PhD, FAAN
Associate Professor and Chief of Cognitive Neurology
Rutgers-RWJ Medical School
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Dr. Hu is a board-certified neurologist with special certification in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry. He completed his medical and graduate school training at Mayo Medical School, and his adult neurology residency at Mayo Clinic where he received both the Henry Woltman Award in Clinical Excellence and the Senior Resident Research Award. He completed his American Academy of Neurology-sponsored cognitive neurology fellowship at University of Pennsylvania, and joined the faculty at Emory University School of Medicine in 2010. He introduced and popularized modern biomarker-based diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia to the Southeastern region, and was recruited to Rutgers in 2020 to head the Division of Cognitive Neurology.
Dr. Hu is also a physician-scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of dementia research. While still a neurology resident, he was the first to identify the brain region in Alzheimer’s disease where a pathology more commonly seen in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), TDP-43, first appeared. The staging scheme he proposed remains in use across neuropathologic laboratories. After beginning his own research laboratory in 2020, he was the first to develop a reliable diagnostic test for FTD due to TDP-43 which has been replicated by four other groups; show that Black/African Americans have different cerebrospinal fluid profiles of Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation than White Americans, a finding which has significant implication in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in Black/African Americans; and identify important methods to better understand the intersection between brain dysfunction and inflammation across multiple diseases.
Auriel A. Willette
BA, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurology
Center for Innovation in Health and Aging Research
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Rutgers Health
Email: Auriel.A.Willette@rutgers.edu
Dr. Auriel A. Willette (BA, Oberlin College, 2002; MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006; PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010) is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University. He started his first post-doctoral position in neuroepidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Medicine and Public Health in 2010, then a second post-doctoral appointment in human neuroimaging at the National Institute on Aging in 2012. As a K99/R00 grant recipient, Dr. Willette first became faculty in 2015 at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa in the Department of Neurology. As a Rutgers Presidential Diversity Initiative Faculty Scholar, Dr. Willette transitioned to Rutgers University in 2023.
Dr. Willette examines why some older adults develop Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) versus others who remain cognitively healthy. To better understand risk profiles and potential therapeutics, he searches for disease biomarkers in CSF or blood products using proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, and other data-driven methods. He complements this approach with expertise in neuroimaging, immunity, endocrinology, nutrition, and both cognitive and affective domains.
Michelle Chen, PhD
Michelle Chen, PhD
Instructor, Department of Neurology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Dr. Michelle Chen is a neuropsychologist, with a PhD in Clinical Psychology (with neuropsychology concentration and health emphasis) from Yeshiva University and postdoctoral training at Kessler Foundation. Her research involves the study of neurodegeneration and brain-behavior relationships in neurologic populations, such as older adults with cognitive impairment and persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). See https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michelle-Chen-33 for her publications.
Login S. George
PhD
Core Faculty, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research,
Dr. George studies the intersection of psycho-social processes and healthcare utilization to identify mechanisms that can be leveraged to improve patient outcomes. One area of application is among patients with advanced life-limiting illness, where psycho-social processes shape patient well-being, decision-making, and care outcomes (e.g., quality of life; aggressive end-of-life care). Dr. George’s previous work examined among patients with advanced cancer, factors such as psychological well-being, belief-in-miracles, prognostic expectations, and patient-family discordance in treatment preference.
Karthik Kota
MD, MPH
Geriatrician and Assistant Professor, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Takashi Amano
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Rutgers Department of Social Work
Darina V. Petrovsky
Ph.D., RN
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Core Member, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Before joining Rutgers University in Summer 2021, Darina Petrovsky, PhD, RN was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing funded by the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship (F32 AG060630). She received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017. Prior to her doctoral work, she received a Masters in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University (2011) and a Bachelors of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan (2009). Her unique background in music training and nursing science has positioned her well to launch her research career with the goal of improving the lives of older adults living with dementia using non-pharmacologic approaches.
Elizabeth Luth
PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Rutgers University
Elizabeth Luth is a Core Faculty member at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, & Aging Research and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on identifying racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in end-of-life care and developing practical, inclusive, and scalable tools to reduce disparities and promote health equity. Dr. Luth currently holds an R00 from the National Institute on Aging. This project develops and pilot tests a training and tool for home hospice clinicians to improve care and support to patients with dementia and their families. In 2021, she completed a three-year NIA-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, followed by a one-year NIA-funded K99, in the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. She received her PhD in Sociology from Rutgers University in 2017.
Zeeshan Ahmed
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine – Tenure Track and Core Member
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research.
Department of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed is Assistant Professor of Medicine – Tenure Track and Core Member at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research (IFH); and Department of Medicine – Division of General Internal Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS), Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ. He is Full Academic Member of the Rutgers Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; Center for Cancer Health Equity, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey; and Rutgers Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey.
Melissa Marquez
Research Assistant
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research
Guibin Su
Research Assistant
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Jaunis Estervil
Research Assistant
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research