The McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF) recently elected Dr. Sharon A. Brangman, a leader in the field of geriatrics, to its Board of Trustees. Dr. Brangman serves as Chair of the Department of Geriatrics and Director of the Center for Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease, and is a Distinguished Service Professor at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.
Among her career accomplishments, Dr. Brangman developed University Geriatricians at Upstate Medical University, the most comprehensive ambulatory practice and interdisciplinary geriatric medicine team in the region. She also created and served as Director of Upstate Medical University’s Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program until 2022. The Fellowship Program has been consistently accredited for more than 30 years. In addition, Dr. Brangman created LinkAges, an innovative curriculum in geriatric medicine that advances student-patient relationships across all four years of medical school education.
“Dr. Brangman is a nationally-recognized geriatrician and expert on aging and we are thrilled to welcome her to our Board of Trustees. From her efforts to educate patients directly on how to optimize their cognitive health to the curricula and programs she’s developed to educate primary care providers on memory loss, Dr. Brangman’s work aligns perfectly with the Foundation’s mission to educate the public and healthcare professionals on the importance of maintaining cognitive and brain health.”
Michael L. Dockery, MD, Chair of the McKnight Brain Research Foundation.
With cognitive changes due to the normal aging process affecting nearly 87 percent of people age 65 and older, the McKnight Brain Research Foundation is the nation’s only private foundation dedicated exclusively to solving the mysteries of the aging brain and helping people achieve a lifetime of cognitive health. The Foundation supports research focused specifically on cognitive aging, age-related cognitive decline and memory loss.
“As the nation’s aging population soars to its highest point in history, more research is needed on cognitive aging. I’m looking forward to working with the McKnight Brain Research Foundation to help drive innovation and research indicating that adopting a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk for cognitive decline. By shifting our current approach from treating aging as a disease to promoting the concept of healthy aging, we can positively impact the overall health of our country’s aging population.”
Sharon A. Brangman, MD, McKnight Brain Research Foundation Trustee
Dr. Brangman has held leadership roles at the national level, including serving as President of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) from 2010-2011 and Chair of the Board from 2011-2012. As the Founding Chair of the Ethnogeriatrics Committee of the American Geriatrics Society, she led efforts to develop the AGS Doorway Thoughts series focused on helping healthcare professionals communicate and care for people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Dr. Brangman was also president of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs from 2015-2017 and was elected to the board in 2013 where she served as Chair until 2019.
Dr. Brangman is a widely published researcher and was the Co-Principal Investigator on the Recruitment Accelerator for Diversity in Aging Research project, which was funded by the National Institute of Aging.
Dr. Brangman has also received numerous awards throughout her career including, the Women Who Mean Business Award from the American Red Cross of Central New York (2011), the Legendary Women of Syracuse Award from the Syracuse Community Health Center (2011), Physician Service to Medicine and the Community Award from the Onondaga County Medical Society (2011), the Elder Care Accomplished Professional Award from the Eldercare Foundation (2009), the prestigious Arent’s Award from Syracuse University (2019), which is the highest honor given to an alum.
Dr. Brangman joins the MBRF’s current Board of Trustees, including Dr. Patricia A. Boyle, Dr. John E. Brady, Dr. Allison Brashear, Dr. J. Lee Dockery, Dr. Michael L. Dockery, Chair, Dr. Roy H. Hamilton, Dr. Susan L. Pekarske, Dr. Madhav Thambisetty, Vice Chair, and Melanie Cianciotto, Corporate Trustee, in working to improve quality of life for the public by alleviating age-related memory loss.
