Heather E. Whitson

Dr. Whitson is an internist, geriatrician and clinical investigator. Her overall goal is to optimize independence and resilience in people with multiple chronic conditions and she has particular expertise related to how the aging process and comorbidities affect the brain. She co-leads the PRIME Collaborative, a multi-institutional research initiative to identify mechanisms and predictors of recovery after common health stressors (e.g., surgery, hip fracture, vision loss). Through several institutional and national leadership roles, Dr. Whitson coordinates and facilitates efforts to broaden the evidence base and research workforce to improve knowledge and care decisions for medically complex older patients. In addition to the roles above, she is Co-Director of the Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.