Susan E. Hardy, M.D., instructor in geriatric medicine at Yale School of Medicine, was recently awarded a 2004 Pfizer/Foundation for Health in Aging Junior Faculty Scholar Award for Research on Health Outcomes in Geriatrics.
Hardy will receive $65,000 annually for two years to continue her research into transitions between independence and disability among older persons.
Hardy’s research focuses on how older people recover from disability in basic activities such as bathing and walking. She will investigate the effects of prior disability and events such as hospitalizations, other illnesses, or non-medical life events on recovery from subsequent episodes of disability. Her sponsor is Thomas M. Gill, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine/geriatrics, who studies the development of functional decline in older persons and develops preventive strategies to forestall the onset and progression of disability among those at risk.
The purpose of the Pfizer Scholars program is to encourage the development and promotion of talented physician-scientists at the beginning of their careers. Two scholar grants are awarded annually in geriatrics, public health, clinical epidemiology and pain medicine. Recipients of the highly competitive awards are chosen by an independent academic advisory board.
The fellowships are part of Pfizer’s Medical and Academic Partnerships (MAP) grant program. Since 1984, these high-profile grants have created and supported more than 800 educational opportunities, demonstrating Pfizer’s commitment to the advancement of research and originality in health-care scholarship.
