Executive Committee Members

Margie Lachman
Margie Lachman
Chair, Executive Committee
Community Advisory Board Member; Pilot Investigator

Margie E. Lachman, PhD is Minnie and Harold L. Fierman Professor of Psychology and Director of the Lifespan Development Lab at Brandeis University and the Boston Roybal Center for Active Lifestyle Interventions. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 20 and the Gerontological Society of America. Lachman's research is in the area of lifespan development with a focus on midlife and later life. She was editor of the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences (2000-2003), and edited two volumes on midlife development. She was co-director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) funded pre and postdoctoral training program, Cognitive Aging in a Social Context (1990-2015). With funding from NIA, her current work is aimed at identifying psychosocial (e.g., sense of control) and behavioral (e.g., physical exercise) factors that can protect against, minimize, or compensate for declines in cognition (e.g., memory) and health. She is conducting studies to examine long-term predictors of psychological and physical health, laboratory-based experiments to identify psychological and physiological processes involved in aging-related changes, especially in memory, and intervention studies to enhance performance and promote adaptive functioning.

Lachman has published numerous chapters and journal articles on these topics. Lachman was a member of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development (1990-1998) and is currently collaborating on a 20-year longitudinal follow-up of the original MacArthur midlife sample, with the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS).  She has conducted intervention studies designed to enhance the sense of control over memory and physical exercise (e.g., Strong for Life), and one of the programs designed to increase control over falls (A Matter of Balance) has been widely adopted internationally and won the Archstone Award for Excellence in Program Innovation from the American Public Health Association. Lachman has served as an advisor to organizations such as the AARP and the Boston Museum of Science for the traveling exhibit on the Secrets of Aging. She has presented her research on the CBS evening news and the NBC Today show. She received the Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, Division on Adult Development and Aging in 2003 and the Distinguished Career Contribution to Gerontology Award in Behavioral and Social Sciences from the Gerontological Society of America in 2015. In 2021 she received the Distinguished Mentorship in Gerontology Award from the Gerontological Society of America Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Lewis Lipsitz
Lewis Lipsitz
Current Executive Committee Member
Pilot Investigator

Dr. Lewis Lipsitz is the director of the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, chief of the Division of Gerontology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research is focused on mechanisms and management of common geriatric syndromes, including hypo- and hypertension, falls, syncope and cognitive dysfunction. He has over 30 years of clinical experience helping patients and families manage these and other geriatric conditions, and he has led numerous research and educational programs aimed toward improving the care of elderly patients, including the Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and Reynolds Program for the Advancement of Geriatric Education at Harvard Medical School.

Carmen Sceppa
Carmen Sceppa
Current Executive Committee Member
Pilot Investigator
617.373.5543

Professor Sceppa is director of research in the Human Performance and Exercise Laboratory, director of the graduate program in exercise science, and dean in the Institute of Urban Health Research and Practice at Bouve College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University. Dr. Sceppa's program of research focused on healthy aging is looking to transform the way we think about exercise, from a personal choice to preventative medicine. Her program of research addresses three areas (1) efficacy of exercise interventions on health risk factor reduction; (2) translation of evidence based exercise interventions in the real world; and (3) development of sustainable strategies for health promotion and optimal health. She targets vulnerable populations including those underserved, frail, chronically ill and ethnically diverse.

Art Kramer
Art Kramer
Current Executive Committee Member

Art Kramer is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Cognitive & Brain Health at Northeastern University.  A major focus of his labs recent research is the understanding and enhancement of cognitive and neural plasticity across the lifespan.  He is a former Associate Editor of Perception and Psychophysics and is currently a member of six editorial boards. Professor Kramer is also a fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, a former member of the executive committee of the International Society of Attention and Performance, and a recipient of a NIH Ten Year MERIT Award.

Terry Ellis
Terry Ellis
Current Executive Committee Member

Dr. Ellis is an Associate Professor at Boston University College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College in the Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training. Her research focuses on investigating the impact of exercise and rehabilitation on the progression of disability in individuals with Parkinson disease. Dr. Ellis is also the Director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation at Boston University where she conducts research, provides clinical consultations and education to healthcare professionals and to persons with neurological disorders. In addition, Dr. Ellis directs the American Parkinson Disease Association National Rehabilitation Resource Center housed at Boston University. She also teaches examination and treatment of patients with neurological disorders within the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Boston University.

Former Executive Committee Members

Alan Jette
Alan Jette
External Advisory Committee
Former Executive Committee Member

Dr. Jette's research interests include late-life exercise, evaluation of rehabilitation treatment outcomes, and the measurement, epidemiology and prevention of disability. Dr. Jette is an international expert in the development and dissemination of contemporary outcome measurement instruments to evaluate health care quality and outcomes. He has published over 180 peer reviewed articles on these topics. He and his collaborators in the Department of Rehabilitation at the NH Clinical Center are assisting the Social Security Administration to improve their work disability determination process by analyzing existing social security datasets and developing new measures to be used within the process. Currently, he directs the Boston Rehabilitation Outcome Measurement Center funded by NCMRR/NH, serves on the Executive Committee of the Boston Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center funded by NIA/NH and is Co-Project Director of the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center funded by NIDRR.

James Lubben
James Lubben
External Advisory Committee
Former Executive Committee Member
617-552-4020

James Lubben, Ph.D., is the inaugural holder of the Louise McMahon Ahern Endowed Professor in Social Work at Boston College School of Social Work. Dr. Lubben has offered consultation to the World Health Organization regarding health and welfare systems development for aging societies. He served four terms (12 years) on the congressionally mandated Gerontology and Geriatrics Advisory Committee for the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Lubben is the founding director of the Institute on Aging at Boston College. His research considers social isolation as a behavioral health risk among older adults. To carry out his research, he developed the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS), an abbreviated measure designed for both research and clinical use among older populations.

Terry Fulmer
Terry Fulmer
Former Executive Committee Member

Terry Fulmer, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., is the president of The John A. Hartford Foundation in New York City, a foundation dedicated to improving the care of older adults where she serves as the chief strategist for the foundation and was recently recognized for her leadership as one of the top 50 Influencers in Aging by PBS’s Next Avenue, the premier digital publication dedicated to covering issues for older Americans. 

Dr. Fulmer is nationally and internationally recognized as a leading expert in geriatrics and is best known for conceptualization and development of the national NICHE program and research on the topic of elder abuse and neglect, work that has been funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Nursing Research. In 2016, she received the 2016 Award for Exceptional Service to The New York Academy of Medicine for her distinguished service on the Academy’s Board of Trustees, including as vice-chair and for her active engagement in the policy work of the Academy, especially its Age-friendly NYC initiative. 

She has authored over 150 peer-reviewed papers and edited 10 books. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. She was the first nurse to serve on the board of the American Geriatrics Society and the first nurse to serve as President of the Gerontological Society of America.