Congratulations to Dr. Pappadis on Inaugural Distinguished Professorship in Aging

The Sealy Center on Aging is proud to announce that Monique R. Pappadis, PhD, MEd, FACRM, Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health and Health Disparities, has received the inaugural appointment to the Edgar Gnitzinger Distinguished Professorship in Aging at UTMB. Her appointment is effective April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031.

This distinguished endowment recognizes Dr. Pappadis' outstanding contributions to aging research, health equity, and community-engaged scholarship. As Assistant Dean for Community-Based Research in the School of Public and Population Health, Fellow of the Sealy Center on Aging, and leader in the Clinical and Community-based Research Resource Core at the UTMB Pepper Center, Dr. Pappadis has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for vulnerable and underserved populations across the lifespan.

Dr. Pappadis' research focuses on advancing health equity and reducing health disparities among older adults and individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke. Her work addresses care transitions, continuity of care, and caregiver support, with recent studies aims at improving screening for elder mistreatment among vulnerable older adults, including those with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. She also investigates the intersection of elder mistreatment and TBI, while maintaining longstanding interests in minority aging, sex disparities in rehabilitation, health literacy, and psychosocial adjustment to disability.

In addition to her research, Dr. Pappadis serves as the Facilitators Co-Lead for the UTMB Institute for Translational Sciences and is an Investigator and Director of Dissemination and Cultural Humility at TIRR Memorial Hermann's Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems. She is nationally recognized for her professional service, leadership, and mentorship, contributing to numerous organizations and advisory groups dedicated to rehabilitation, brain injury, aging, and health disparities research. 

As the inaugural holder of the Edgar Gnitzinger Distinguished Professorship in Aging, Dr. Pappadis exemplifies the Sealy Center on Aging's commitment to fostering innovative research that improves the health, well-being, and quality of life of older adults.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Pappadis on this well-deserved honor. 

Warm regards,

Sealy Center on Aging

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston