Clin-STAR Executive Committee: Bios

Thomas Gill, MD

is a geriatrician, clinical epidemiologist and the Humana Foundation Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Yale.

Dr. Gill is a leading international authority on the epidemiology and prevention of disability and functional decline among older persons.

He holds several leadership positions at Yale, including Director of the Program on Aging, Older Independence (Pepper) Center, and an NIA-funded postdoctoral training program in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Related Research.

Kristine Yaffe, MD

is the Scola Endowed Chair and Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology at UCSF.

In addition, Dr. Yaffe is the Chief of Neuropsychiatry and Director of Memory Disorders Clinic at the SF Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center.

She holds several leadership positions at UCSF, including Director of the Center for Population Brain Health, Director of the Research Education Core (REC) for the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), Co-Director of the REC for the Pepper Center, and Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) pilot program.

Jeremy Walston, MD

Dr. Jeremy Walston passed away on June 10, 2025. Dr. Walston was central to the development and leadership as Multiple Principal Investigator of the Clin-STAR program, informed by his numerous professional roles as a geriatrician, professor, mentor, and renowned researcher.

Dr. Walston was the Raymond and Ana Lublin Professor of Geriatric Medicine, the PI of the Pepper Center, the Co-Director of the Biology of Healthy Aging Program and the Deputy Director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at Johns Hopkins. His clinical research focused on frailty and resiliency, while his translational research focused on the interface between mitochondrial biology and chronic inflammation and the impact of age-related changes in these systems on older adults.

Odette van der Willik

is the Deputy Director and Director, Grant Programs for the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR).

In this role, she develops and oversees AFAR’s series of grant programs, supporting early and mid-career investigators, medical students and other trainees in the fields of aging research and geriatric medicine.

She also acts act as a liaison to AFAR’s funding agencies and program partners, including foundations, corporations and the National Institute on Aging. She is a Co-Investigator for the NIA Research Centers Collaborative Network and the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center.

Stephanie Lederman, MEd

is the Executive Director of the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR).

In this role, Ms. Lederman has been instrumental in the planning, coordination and management of numerous grant programs.

She is one of the multiple PIs for the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center and Research Centers Collaborative Network, and is an advocate for aging research, promoting the field through raising funds for new investigators, and organizes scientific meetings, through outreach to the general public and media.

Laura Major, DrPH

is a Training Officer in NIA’s Office of Strategic Extramural Programs (OSEP). Laura coordinates institutional training and clinician-scientist and established investigator programs for NIA. In addition, Laura serves as NIA’s Project Scientist for Clin-STAR. Prior to joining OSEP, Laura served as a Program Officer in NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research (BSR), where she managed a grant portfolio focused on institutional training and physical activity interventions.