image: The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), is proud to recognize the outstanding contributions of Lauren B. Gerlach, DO, MS, with the 2026 Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research. This award honors a health services researcher in an early or middle phase of his/her career who has already made importantcontributions with work that respects the value of multidisciplinary health services science and that is likely to be highly influential in shaping practice and research for decades to come. The award is a framed citation and carries a cash prize of $5,000.
Credit: Image courtesy of University of Michigan Medicine
New York, NY – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), is proud to recognize the outstanding contributions of Lauren B. Gerlach, DO, MS, with the 2026 Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in HealthServices and Aging Research.
This award honors a health services researcher in an early or middle phase of his/her career who has already made importantcontributions with work that respects the value of multidisciplinary health services science and that is likely to be highly influential in shaping practice and research for decades to come. The award is a framed citation and carries a cash prize of $5,000.
Dr. Gerlach is a geriatric psychiatrist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Her research examines the quality and safety of psychotropic and other central nervous systems (CNS)-active medication use among older adults, with a focus on people living with dementia, nursing home residents, and individuals receiving hospice and end-of-life care. Using national survey data, Medicare claims, nursing home assessment, and other health system data, Dr. Gerlach and her team evaluate prescribing patterns, medication-related risks and benefits, and how national policies and safety warnings influence care. Her work aims to support safer, more person-centered prescribing and to clarify when medications are most likely to help—or harm—older adults with mental health and cognitive disorders. She has received several awards from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), including the GEMSSTAR R03, NIA K23 career development award focused on end-of-life care for dementia, and an NIA R01 examining antiepileptic medication use among nursing home residents with dementia.
Dr. Gerlach serves as Co-Lead of the External Resources Core for the NIA-funded P01 Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) and is a Co-Investigator on an NIA U54 cooperative agreement studying the dementia workforce. She has published in JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Psychiatry, JAMA Neurology, and the American Journal of Psychiatry, and currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Dr. Gerlach is also the co-host of the "Minding Memory" podcast.
“It is especially meaningful to receive an award that honors Dr. Wetle, whose leadership has helped define aging-related health services research and its role in improving care in older adults,” notes Dr. Gerlach. “This recognition by AFAR also reflects the work of many collaborators, trainees, and research team member who share a commitment to improving the quality and safety of care for older adults, including those living with dementia.”
Established in 2019, the award is named to honor Terrie Fox Wetle, PhD, who has devoted her professional career to improving the lives of older persons and advocating for the inclusion of aging-related health services research in Public Health. Dr. Wetle has served as the inaugural Dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, and Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, as well as former board president and current board member of AFAR.
"It is fitting for AFAR to announce the 2026 Wetle Award recipient during National Older Americans Month in May,” notes Stephanie Lederman, EdM, AFAR Executive Director. "Dr. Gerlach’s research has influenced medication safety and prescribing practices, improved end-of-life care for people living with dementia, and informed patient care and national policy—an impressive array of accomplishments worthy of recognition as a rising star in health services and aging research.”
Dr. Gerlach will receive the Wetle Award at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, on Thursday, November 5, 2:30 – 4:00 pm. She will present a lecture on her research.
The Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research is one of AFAR’s four annual ScientificAwards of Distinction, in addition to the Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research, the George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award, and the Irving S. Wright Award. Nominations for the awards are judged by a panel of leading aging researchers. Learn more about AFAR’s Scientific Awards of Distinction here.
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About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For nearly half a century, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing $225,316,000 to 4,539 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and inter-disciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—
to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org.