Congratulations Malena Spar on being Promoted to Program Manager

Please join us in congratulating Malena Spar on her new role as Program Manager at NCIRE for the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network. Malena earned her Master of Public Health degree from the University of San Francisco, which is also where she completed her undergraduate education. For the past 3 ½ years, she has served as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Division, working with Dr. Rebecca Brown, Dr. Michael Steinman, and others on a series of projects, most notably as linchpin of Dr. Brown’s QUERI-funded project evaluating ways to better incorporate the measurement of functional status into routine clinical care throughout the VA Healthcare System. 

In her new role, she will work closely with Dr. Steinman on developing, growing, and sustaining the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network, a new initiative funded by the National Institute on Aging to facilitate and expand research on deprescribing for older adults.  She will coordinate this nationwide program, including the work of core leaders at 9 different universities and a wide variety of activities including investigator development programs, pilot and exploratory studies, stakeholder engagement, and research resource development.  In addition to her role as Program Manager for the network, Malena will work with Dr. Steinman on several projects related to medication use and multimorbidity in older adults.  Congratulations Malena!