What inspired you to pursue aging research?
Growing up, I was very close to my grandparents, particularly my grandmother on my mom’s side. When I was in medical school, my grandma was diagnosed with a low-grade cancer that could be completely cured with surgery. To me surgery seemed like an obvious choice, but for her it was not. She was an independent woman in her 80s, living a full and active life. She had seen friends undergo surgery who were never quite the same; they never quite regained their same independence and mental sharpness. Ultimately, my grandma did have surgery, and she did really well.
That experience has stayed with me because I want more families to have the positive experience that we did—not simply because they are “lucky” though I do think that we were lucky, especially at that time—but because we as a field have advanced our understanding of how to help older adults thrive after surgery and get back to their families and lives.
In your view, what does AFAR mean to the field, and what does it mean, for you, to receive an AFAR grant now?
I’m incredibly honored to receive an American Federation for Aging Research Grant and this vote of confidence from the McKnight Foundation. Before I became a physician, I completed a PhD in neuroscience and engineering—but I ultimately realized I wouldn’t be fulfilled unless I could treat patients with my own hands.
As a practicing anesthesiologist, I often notice patterns in my patients that make intuitive sense clinically but aren’t yet fully explained by science. Grants like this are so important because they allow us to explore those high-risk, high-reward ideas—the ones that bridge what we see every day in the operating room with the basic mechanisms we still don’t understand. This support gives us the tools to connect patient experience with scientific discovery and bring the two worlds closer together.
What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
This research is exciting for several reasons. First, it builds on a concept my lab pioneered called the brain–heart–immune axis—the communication network that links the brain and body to control inflammation. We recently showed that something as simple as heart rate variability, measured with a wristband at home, can reflect how healthy that axis is before surgery. Patients with a stronger brain–heart–immune connection had less inflammation afterward and were less likely to experience thinking or memory problems. It’s a mind–body connection that feels intuitive to patients and physicians alike, but we’re only now beginning to understand it scientifically. Second, we’re shifting the focus from the sickest patients to the everyday experiences of aging.
Most older adults won’t face major surgery, but nearly all will experience smaller, repeated stressors—like outpatient procedures or infections—that may still affect brain health. Studying these modest stressors makes our work much more relevant to the real-world experience for the majority of older adults. Finally, this research doesn’t just describe why some older adults struggle after surgery—it explores how to help. By strengthening the brain–heart–immune axis before surgery, we hope to uncover noninvasive ways to protect cognitive health and help older adults recover faster and stay sharp longer.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
I study how the brain, heart, and immune system talk to each other—especially as we age. My research looks at what happens to that communication network during times of stress, like surgery, illness, or injury, and how those changes can affect how well people think and recover afterward.
We use wearable sensors, brainwave recordings, and blood tests to understand how inflammation impacts the brain. What’s exciting is that we’re also testing gentle, noninvasive ways—like stimulating a small nerve in the ear—to strengthen that brain–body connection before surgery.
Ultimately, my goal is to help older adults recover faster, think more clearly, and get back to their lives after surgery—not just by treating problems once they happen, but by protecting the brain ahead of time.
