Infection Prevention in Aging Research Group

Principal Investigator

Lona Mody, MD, M.Sc

Lona Mody

Dr. Mody is Amanda Sanford Hickey Professor of Internal Medicine and directs the Center for Research and Innovations in Special Populations (CRIISP). She is a tenured professor at Michigan Medicine and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Funded by NIA, AHRQ, UM Pepper Center, CDC, VA and Foundations, her research defines the clinical and molecular epidemiology of antimicrobial resistant pathogens and develop novel interventions to prevent them. In order to achieve her goals, she collaborates with investigators across the translational spectrum and disciplines, including infectious diseases, hospital medicine, molecular epidemiology, health outcomes researchers, nursing and health policy.

In an NIH-R01 randomized controlled study, her team evaluated a multi-modal targeted infection-prevention (TIP) intervention to prevent resistant organisms and infections in post-acute and long-term care residents with indwelling devices. This innovative work led to a successful AHRQ contract to implement our intervention in over 500 facilities across 50 states in the US. Funded by another NIH-R01, she defined the complex relationship between antimicrobial resistance, functional disability and the role of regional networks in transmission of resistant pathogens and developed interventions to disrupt this transmission. In another study, funded by the VA CSR&D Merit Review, she studies transmission of drug resistant organisms in common use areas by hospitalized patients and downstream consequences of these events.

Her most recent funding – Revolutionizing Precision Health Among Older Adults involving the UM and two academic institutions in Israel will address major challenges related to healthy aging including understanding and preventing common recurring infections that decrease quality and quantity of life. Funded by NIA, she has led many clinical, research and training initiatives during COVID-19 Pandemic with an explicit focus on older adults.

She directs her division’s T32 training grant and with support from NIA K24 is actively involved in mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists. She and her mentees have published in high impact journals such as JAMA, JAMA Internal Medicine, Clinical Infectious Diseases, J of American Geriatrics Society and PNAS. She has published several career development articles particularly on work-life balance.

CV Link

In the news:

More