Dr. Lona Mody is a professor of internal medicine, geriatrics and epidemiology at the University of Michigan. Her research lab studies antibiotic-resistant pathogens and develops measures to prevent their spread.

With a research focus on the aging population, Mody has studied interventions to prevent infections and reduce transmission of drug-resistant pathogens in high-risk populations. She is also the associate division chief of Geriatric and Palliative Care Medicine at the university, associate director of translational research (which looks at new ways to diagnose and treat diseases) for the Geriatrics Center and the principal investigator of the Infection Prevention in Aging Research Group. 

She has been quoted by U.S. News & World Report talking about why older adults are vulnerable to viral strains and the importance of hand hygiene among health care workers to prevent the transmission of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The Washington Post spoke to her about the need for nursing homes to improve their pandemic plans. And Detroit station WWJ Newsradio 950 cited her research into contaminated hospital privacy curtains in Michigan.

Mody’s research has been funded by Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes on Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other foundations.

Mody spoke to WBUR about nursing homes and COVID-19.

Expertise: Geriatrics and palliative medicine, epidemiology, drug-resistant pathogens and older adults

Location: Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Email: lonamody@umich.edu or kegavin@umich.edu, University of Michigan public relations

Twitter: @LonaMody

Listen to Lona Mody on the GeriPals Podcast: