Epidemiology of Aging

Training in this area emphasizes critical thinking and rigorous epidemiologic study designs to address major public health and clinical challenges related to aging, age‑related diseases, and the care of older adults in society. 

Epidemiology of aging focuses on population aging, age‑related diseases, and declines in physical and cognitive function in older adults. As the population ages rapidly, this growing field has developed its own concepts, key focus areas, and special research methods to understand causes, measure disease burden, develop preventive strategies, improve health care for older adults, and promote healthy aging. Key focus areas include common age-related chronic diseases (e.g., neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer), functional decline and disability, complex health status in older adults (e.g., multimorbidity, frailty, polypharmacy), concepts and methods related to healthy aging and longevity, and health services and utilization.

Highlights from our program include:

• Core curriculum. Core courses cover fundamental and emerging methods for studying aging in populations. Topics include demography, descriptive and analytic epidemiology to quantify population aging and examine major health conditions in older adults and their determinants; special issues such as frailty; applications of artificial intelligence in aging research; and other emerging issues in the field.
• Research opportunities. Faculty conduct research on issues such as cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, depression, musculoskeletal disorders, and frailty through several Harvard-based large prospective cohorts and close national and international collaborations.
• Collaborative environment. Faculty members contributing to teaching, mentoring, and research in this field are drawn from highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research and healthcare communities at Harvard and in the Boston area, such as the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Mass General Brigham, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and VA Boston Healthcare. These resources provide superb research opportunities for students and fellows. 

Learn more about our faculty below: