Anand S. Iyer, M.D., MSPHAnand S. Iyer, M.D., MSPH, assistant professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, is the first UAB recipient of the Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging in its 25-year history.
The award is a collaboration of the National Institute on Aging, the American Federation of Aging Research and the John A. Hartford Foundation to develop talented scientists who will take on active leadership roles in aging and geriatrics to improve health care outcomes for older adults. Only seven to 10 Beeson Scholars are named each year nationwide.
"Dr. Iyer’s innovative work, which focuses on bringing early palliative care to older adults with chronic obstructive lung disease, will ultimately revolutionize how we care for these patients.," said Cynthia J. Brown, M.D., director of the Integrative Center for Aging Research and Iyer's mentor for the project. "UAB, the Department of Medicine, and all of Dr. Iyer’s mentors are thrilled that Dr. Iyer has been recognized with this highly prestigious award."
Iyer is a pulmonologist, intensivist and health outcomes researcher. He works to bridge the fields of pulmonary medicine, geriatrics and palliative care and conducts patient-centered outcomes research in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
"Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease is one of the most rapidly growing causes of disability and death among older Americans, and Anand Iyer is taking on the challenge of this disease in new ways that combine the best of medical, nursing, and social care to improve the lives of these patients," said Seth Landefeld, M.D., chair of the Department of Medicine and the Spencer Chair in Medical Science Leadership. "He is a local hero, a native of Anniston and the 2018 recipient of UAB’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Dr. Iyer is a rising star, and I am thrilled that we will all see better with the light he brings."
The five-year, $1.2 million K76 award will support Iyer’s career development as a leader in aging and geriatrics as it relates to pulmonary medicine and will help him conduct a randomized controlled pilot trial of a geriatrics-palliative care intervention for older adults with COPD and their families.
“I am grateful for the years of support from my family and my village at UAB,” Iyer said. “The population of older adults is growing fast, and we all need to be thinking outside the box on ways to help them live well with complex chronic diseases that limit their quality of life.”
Iyer says he is looking forward to learning from international leaders in the field of aging to transform the pulmonary specialty through geriatrics and palliative care and revolutionize care for older adults with pulmonary diseases.