Rebecca T. Brown, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics)
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
Research Associate, Population Aging Research Center
Senior Fellow, Penn Center for Public Health
Vice Chief for Research, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Department: Medicine
Contact information
Ralston House
3615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 573-2021
Education:
AB (English)
Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, 1999.
MD (Medicine)
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2005.
MPH (Clinical Effectiveness)
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 2011.
Permanent linkAB (English)
Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, 1999.
MD (Medicine)
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2005.
MPH (Clinical Effectiveness)
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 2011.
Description of Clinical Expertise
As a geriatrician, Dr. Brown has expertise practicing in several clinical settings, including inpatient geriatrics consults and Acute Care for Elders units and outpatient primary care geriatrics. She currently practices primary care geriatrics at the Corporal Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia.Description of Research Expertise
The goal of Dr. Brown's research is to improve functional status and quality of life for socioeconomically vulnerable older adults. A substantial part of Dr. Brown's research has examined the epidemiology and outcomes of functional impairment and other geriatric conditions among vulnerable older populations. Her most recent work builds upon these epidemiologic findings to develop and test interventions to optimize function for vulnerable older adults in both clinic and community settings. She currently holds a K76 Beeson Advanced Career Development Award from the NIA focused on improving function and independence for older adults living in federally subsidized housing, as well as a VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) grant focused on improving identification and management of functional impairment among older adults in primary care settings.Selected Publications
Warren C, Ashcraft LE, Peeples A, Goodman OK, Burke RE, Szanton S, Evelyn-Gustave A, Brown RT: Implementation of the CAPABLE-VA Program plus critical home repairs among older Veterans. 18th Annual Dissemination & Implementation Conference, Washington, D.C. Dec 15 2025.Ashcraft LE, Hall D, Brown RT, Long JA, Werner RM, Peeples AD, Pelcher L, Warren CM, Goodman OK, Burke RE: Developing and testing a new retrospective tool to identify adaptations across 54 implementation efforts in the SAGE QUERI effectiveness implementation hybrid type III trial. 18th Annual Dissemination & Implementation Conference, Washington, D.C. Dec 16 2025.
Britt K, Brown RT, Luo X, Huang B: Cognitive care planning for persons living with dementia and their care partners: challenges, needs, and questions. Symposium presentation at Gerontological Society of America 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts Nov 14 2025.
Kim S, Jung H-Y, Lake D, Brown RT, Werner RM, Karlawish J, Ryskina K: Clinician specialization in skilled nursing facility practice and post-acute outcomes of patients with dementia. Health Serv Res Aug 31 2025 Notes: e70035.
Zamora-Rogoski KA, Brown RT, Rizzo A, Nicosia FM: Measurement of functional status in primary care: the role of the interprofessional team. J Interprof Care Page: 1-9, Jul 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1080/13561820.2025.2537124.
Andy UU, Lampkin K, Newman DK, Wyman J, Klusaritz H, Walsh W, Reaves S, Arya L, Brown RT: Evaluating community engagement efforts for recruitment in a study of older women with urinary incontinence: the MoVEonUP Study. Poster presentation at American Geriatric Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Chicago, Illinois May 2025.
Hayek R, Brown RT, Gutman I, Baranes G, Springer S: Smartphone-based analysis for early detection of aging impact on gait and stair negotiation: a cross-sectional study Sensors (Basel) 25(7): 2310, Apr 2025 Notes: doi: 10.3390/s25072310.
Hadjis AD, Sun H, Du Y, Brown RT, Munshi P, Gill S, Hossain N, Skuli S, Frey N, Hexner EO, Bruno XJ, Lai CE, Martin M, Luger SM, Porter DL, Loren AW, McCurdy SR : Graft-versus-host disease and senescence-associated biomarkers correlate with frailty and survival in older adults undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. Oral presentation at Tandem Meetings of American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research; Honolulu, Hawaii Feb 2025.
McCurdy SR, Sung A, Brown RT, Bruno X, Hong S, Babushock D, Munshi P, Johnson E, Frey N, Kessler M, Lai C, Lew M, Martin ME, Hexner E, Alfred Fisher, Luger S, Koll T, Skuli S, Bohannon L, Gill S, Porter D, Hossain N, Chao N, Loren A, Bhatt V, Gimotty PA: Machine learning models demonstrate gait speed as best predictor of survival and relapse-free survival in older adults undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Poster presentation at Tandem Meetings of American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research; Honolulu, Hawaii Feb 2025.
Nicosia FM, Zamora K, Ashcraft LE, Krautner G, Groot M, Kinosian B, Schubert CC, Chhatre S, Moriarty H, Intrator O, Schwartz AW, Orkaby AR, Prigge J, Brown RT: Type II hybrid effectiveness-implementation study of routine functional status screening in VA primary care. Implement Sci Commun 6(1): 15, Jan 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1186/s43058-025-00698-w.