The Johns Hopkins Human Aging Project (HAP) is a Johns Hopkins wide effort that aims to improve the health span and life trajectory of older adults.
The HAP was originally led by the late geriatrician and gerontologist Jeremy Walston, M.D., who helped define the most commonly used frailty measurements in older adults and led research programs on frailty and resiliency in older adults. Dr. Walston was the Raymond and Anna Lublin Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, and was an internationally recognized geriatrician, whose research—which includes nearly 300 publications and book chapters—built bridges between disciplines and had a profound influence on subspecialists and biologists outside the field of aging research. His mentorship helped launch the careers of numerous prominent geriatricians and gerontologists, earning him the 2025 Dean’s Distinguished Mentoring Award. The HAP continues to be a pioneer in frailty and resiliency, as Dr. Walston would have wanted. Donations to the HAP will further facilitate the development of research programs and outreach to underserved communities and stakeholders. In addition, it will enable the naming of new HAP scholars to promote new approaches to healthy aging.
Furthermore, in honor of Dr. Walston, the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology is establishing the Jeremy Walston, M.D., Endowed Scholar in Aging and Geriatric Medicine Fund. This fund builds on the HAP Scholars legacy by creating an endowed fund to perpetually support new scholars. Donations to this fund will support an assistant professor for up to three years as they grow their scientific research in the field of geriatric medicine and gerontology. The junior faculty recipient will demonstrate a commitment to pursuing research that can be translated from the biology of aging to clinical practice and to helping older adults and caregivers in the community.
The HAP generously received start-up funding from the Johns Hopkins Center for Innovative Medicine, led by Dr. David Hellmann.
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