David Camacho, PhD

How did you first find out about Clin-STAR’s research development grant program?

I attended the 2024 American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry and met a Clin-STAR recipient (Karen Fortuna). I am thankful for her encouragement to apply!

What inspired you to pursue aging research and how does your perspective as a non-geriatrician specialist contribute to your research activity?

My research is personal. My experiences as a caregiver motivated me to engage in clinical and research projects that improve the health and wellbeing of older Latino communities. For approximately 15 years I provided care to my parents and godparents who experienced comorbid physical and mental health problems including chronic medical illness, depression, chronic pain, loneliness and cognitive impairment. Caregiving experiences motivated me to pursue a career as a gerontological social worker and researcher. As a social worker, I provided services to primarily low-income adults and older adults in primary and specialty care clinics in Los Angeles. I witnessed social determinants and health disparities as not only statistical differences, but as sources of suffering that severely and negatively impact psychosocial functioning and quality of life for those directly affected and their loved ones. Further, there are few clinical interventions addressing common aging challenges that consider the needs of older Latino adults. My mother would always say “todo tiene solución menos la muerte” (all problems have a solution, except death). I cannot resuscitate my loved ones. After my loved ones passed, I decided to focus on research to address common problems in aging and to cope with my losses. My experiences as a caregiver and clinical gerontological social worker inform and propel my research on multiple projects addressing the physical and mental health needs of older Latino adults.

In your view, what does Clin-STAR mean to the field and what does it mean for you to receive a Clin-STAR grant now?

We know that the older adult population in the US is getting larger. We do not have enough clinicians or researchers trained to work with older adults. The Clin-STAR program offers a vital opportunity to support much needed gerontological research.

Clin-STAR support is vital to my career trajectory and goals. This support will allow me to enhance my research and publication record and pursue tenure. Further, this support will allow me to advocate for underserved older Latino individuals and build solutions that will enhance their health and care

What’s exciting about your research’s potential impact to your career, field, and patients?

To date, limited work explores pain in older Latino individuals. Further, most research on older Latino adults assumes that they are a monolithic group. However, there is much diversity in older Latino communities (e.g., sexual and gender minorities). Clin-STAR support will allow me to explore subgroup differences in older Latino adults living with chronic pain using data from the All of Us research program. Findings will support future research including testing a psychosocial intervention for older Latino adults living with chronic pain (Original: PATH-Pain; Spanish: Programa Dolores).

How have you collaborated with your mentor or co-investigators?

My primary mentor on this Clin-STAR project is Dr. M. Carrington Reid. He is the Sherwood Wright Associate Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Director of Cornell’s NIA-funded Roybal Center Translational Research Institute of Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL) and co-director of Weill Cornell’s T32 training program in behavioral geriatrics. He is a clinical epidemiologist and geriatric medicine physician whose work over the past 15 years has focused on the epidemiology and treatment of various persistent pain disorders.

Dr. Reid has been a mentor since I began postdoctoral training at Weill Cornell. We have now published several manuscripts exploring critical issues in aging (pain, loneliness, cognitive functioning) in racially/ethnically diverse groups of older adults. Further, we are developing manuscripts based on our qualitative examinations of older Latino adults (e.g., Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico) living with chronic pain. These manuscripts will provide insight into: 1) cultural similarities (e.g., Fatalism) and differences (e.g., “achaques”) in expressions of chronic pain and health experiences; 2) how chronic structural challenges like poverty, low educational attainment, perceived discrimination negatively impact mental health, stress levels, and contribute to difficulties in managing chronic pain; and 3) how migration experiences, gendered perspectives, and aging views that influence health across the life course