Geriatric Medicine Division

Mariam Anwar, MBBS, Division Director

Mariam Anwar, MBBS

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School

Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director, Hennepin Healthcare

I have been the Co Division Director at Hennepin Healthcare since August 2020 and Division Director since 2022. I have extensive experience in completing clinical evaluations of adults in a variety of clinical care settings. I worked in a community clinic for almost four years before returning to Hennepin Healthcare and continuing my Internal Medicine practice. I have a special interest in the care of the elderly, from healthy to frail, polypharmacy, osteoporosis, dementia, mental health, diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. I am interested in the spiritual aspect of well-being and helping people pursue all dimensions of wellness and quality of life.  I enjoy teaching and developing clinical competency in Geriatrics by working one on one with physicians in training, to help them strengthen their clinical skills. I work with MAGIC ACE Committee to develop clinical guidelines in skilled nursing facilities.

Education and training

• Geriatric Fellowship, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
• Internal Medicine Internship and Residency, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
• MBBS, Aga Khan University, Pakistan

Grants

Minnesota Board on Aging: Healthy Caregiver Initiative; 4/1/16 - 3/31/17; Project Coordinator

Lea Buda, DO

I have been a geriatrician at Hennepin Healthcare since 2023. After training in residency and fellowship at Hennepin, I was honored to join as an attending. I love the patient population that Hennepin cares for and appreciate the warm, supportive atmosphere. I have a passion for serving older adults and emphasize a holistic, patient-centered approach in my practice.

 

Education and training

• Geriatric Fellowship, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
• Internal Medicine Residency, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
• DO, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, Biddeford, ME

Publications

View all publications (Google Scholar Profile)

Teaching Activities

• Supervising family medicine residents on nursing home rounds

Emily Escue, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School

Dr. Escue is board-certified in internal medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care. She cares for patients in the clinic, as well as in nursing facilities and their homes. She has a special interest in complex chronic illness management, dementia, and advanced care planning.

Education and training

• Hospice/Palliative Medicine Fellowship, University of Chicago, IL
• Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, University of Chicago, IL
• Internal Medicine Residency, University of Chicago, IL
• MD, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, TN
• BS/BA University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, TN

Publications

Gleason LJ, Escue ED, Hogan TM. Older Adult Emergency Department Pain Management Strategies. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. 2018 Aug;34(3):491-504

Grants

Minnesota Board on Aging: Healthy Caregiver Initiative; 4/1/16 - 3/31/17; Project Coordinator

Lawrence Kerzner, MD, FACP, AGSF

Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School

Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director, Hennepin Healthcare

I have served as faculty at Hennepin Healthcare since 1995 in various leadership roles including Geriatric Medicine Division Director and Fellowship Program Director.  I was drawn to Hennepin because I admire and support the work of public teaching hospitals within our healthcare system.

I am an Internist-Geriatrician, Clinician-Educator intimately involved in many aspects of senior care, developing innovative educational programming in Geriatrics for our residents and fellows. I participate on boards and councils of the community and other regional and national organizational leadership. I served as President of the National Association of Specialty Professors (ASP) and as an international accreditation site visitor for Geriatric Medicine fellowship programs.  My current focus is within the area of elder abuse and neglect and physician home visiting with Adult Protective Services.

Education and training

• Infectious Disease Fellowship, Boston University, Boston, MA
• Internal Medicine Internship and Residency, Boston University, Boston, MA
• MD, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
• BS, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Selected Publications

1. Holley AH, Sheets K, Okonkwo N, Kerzner LJ. Detecting, Assessing & Responding to Elder Mistreatment. In: Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Geriatrics, 3^rd McGraw Hill, 2021
2. Reidt SL, Holtan HS, Larson TA, Thompson B, Kerzner LJ, Salvatore T, Adam T. Interprofessional collaboration to improve the discharge from the skilled nursing facility to home: Preliminary data on post-discharge hospitalizations and emergency department visits. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016; 64:1895-1899
3. Heath JM, Dyer CB, Kerzner LJ, Mosqueda L, Murphy C. Four models of medical education in elder mistreatment: partnering with community agencies for geriatric education. Acad Med. 2002; 77:1101-1106

Teaching Activities

• Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Director
• Internal Medicine Residency Geriatric Medicine Rotation Director

Other Key Professional Activities

• Board of Directors, Minnesota Elder Justice Center
• Hennepin County Vulnerable Adult-Law Enforcement Team
• Hennepin Healthcare Biomedical Ethics Committee
• Past President, Association of Specialty Professors

Anne Murray, MD, MSc

Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School

I have been the Medical Director of the Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) since 2016, and prior to that, was an Investigator with the Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) at HHRI for 9 years.

Education and training

• Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, MA
• Internal Medicine Internship and Residency, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
• MD, University of Minnesota, MN
• BA, University of Minnesota, MN

Recent Publications

A list of publications can be found here:

View all publications (NCBI MyBibliography)

Grants

• 5U19AG06282-03 (National Institute of Health, National Institute on Aging): ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly – eXTension; 07/2019 – 04/2024; ($42.3 million); Multiple Principal Investigator (Contact PI)
• 1R01AG058729-01 (National Institute of Health, National Institute on Aging): The Natural History of Cognitive Decline in Chronic Kidney Disease: Renal, Vascular and Alzheimer's Disease Contributions; 08/2018 – 03/2023; ($3.1 million); Principal Investigator
• RF1AG079397 (National Institute of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health): Sex-Specific Risk Factors and Trajectories of Blood Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias; 09/2022 – 08/2025; ($4.1 million); Multiple Principal Investigator (Contact PI)
• 5UL1TR002494-04 (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences): University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute; 03/2018 – 02/2023; ($625 thousand); Collaborator
• 1RF1AG067744-01 (National Institute of Health, National Institute on Aging): Prospective Study of the Gut Microbiome in Aging; 09/2020 – 08/2025; ($960 thousand); Co-Investigator
• 3U19AG06282-02S1 (National Institute of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Cancer Institute): Racial Differences in Cancer-Related Mortality and Cognitive and Physical Functioning in ASPREE-XT Supplement 1 (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly eXTension); 07/2019 – 04/2024; ($238 thousand); Co-Investigator
• (American Association of Retired Persons; Optum Labs Health Care): You Can’t Get There from Here: Impaired Mobility as a Predictor of Health Care Access and Quality; 04/2022 – 03/2023; ($150 thousand); Principal Investigator

Teaching Activities

Taught medicine residents and fellows as attending geriatric palliative care consult service 2020 – 2021.

Other Key Professional Activities

• HHRI Executive, then Operations Committee: 2014 – Present
• HHRI Secretary-Treasurer: 2014 – June 2022
• HHRI Board Member: 2014 – June 2022

Kerry Sheets, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School

I am a board-certified geriatrician with clinical interests in complex chronic disease management, cognitive and functional decline, and HIV and aging. I am a core faculty member for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and lead the skilled nursing facility component of the fellowship.  My research interests include cognitive and functional decline, frailty, and dementia. I am actively involved in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly eXTension study as a dementia adjudicator and co-investigator.

Education and training

• Geriatric Medicine Fellowship, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
• Internal Medicine Internship, Residency, and Chief Residency, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
• MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
• AB, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Recent Publications

A list of publications can be found here:

View all publications (NCBI MyBibliography)

Grants

• AARP Quality Measure Innovation Grant: Impaired mobility as a predictor of healthcare access and quality; 11/2022-11/2023; Co-investigator
• NIH U01AG029824 (NIA): ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly eXTension study (ASPREE-XT); 1/2022-12/2024; Co-investigator

Teaching Activities

• Core faculty for the Geriatric Medicine fellowship
• Lead the fellowship skilled nursing facility and HIV and Aging rotations
• Teach internal medicine residents in the HIV and Aging clinic

Other Key Professional Activities

Developed and lead an HIV and Aging clinic at Hennepin Healthcare in collaboration with Dr. Meredith Greene and the Golden Compass program at San Francisco General Hospital