Thomas M. Gill, MD
Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases) and of Investigative MedicineCards
About
Titles
Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Professor of Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases) and of Investigative Medicine
Director, Yale Program on Aging; Director, Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center; Director, Yale Center for Disability and Disabling Disorders; Director, Yale Training Program in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-Related Research
Biography
Dr. Thomas Gill is Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Investigative Medicine and the Humana Foundation Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Yale University. He received his research training in clinical epidemiology as a Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Clinical Scholar at Yale, and he joined the faculty in 1994 after completing an additional year as a geriatrics fellow. Dr. Gill is a leading authority on the epidemiology and prevention of disability among older persons and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Research Award, the RWJ Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar Award, the 2001 Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award from the American Geriatrics Society, the Ewald W. Busse Research Award in the Biomedical Sciences, the 2012 Joseph T. Freeman Award from the Gerontological Society of America, and the 2022 Irving Wright Award of Distinction from the American Federation for Aging Research. Dr. Gill holds several leadership positions at Yale, including Director of the Program on Aging and Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Director of the Center on Disability and Disabling Disorders, and Director of an NIA-funded postdoctoral training program in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-Related Research. His research accomplishments have been recognized through receipt of a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health and election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians.
Appointments
Geriatric Medicine
ProfessorPrimaryChronic Disease Epidemiology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research
- Chronic Disease Epidemiology
- Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center
- Geriatric Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- Investigative Medicine Program
- Yale Medicine
- Yale School of Public Health
- Yale Ventures
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- Fellow
- Yale University School of Medicine (1994)
- Fellow
- Yale University School of Medicine (1993)
- Resident
- University of Washington (1990)
- MD
- University of Chicago (1987)
- BA
- Loyola University (1985)
- BS
- Loyola University (1983)
Research
Overview
Dr. Gill's research is directed towards understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of functional decline and disability among community-living older persons and towards developing preventive strategies to forestall the onset and progression of disability among those who are most vulnerable. The results from the Yale Precipitating Events Project (PEP), Dr. Gill's ongoing NIA-funded cohort study, which includes monthly assessments of functional status for over 25 years, are revolutionizing our understanding of disability, a problem of immense importance to older persons,their families, and society. In a landmark clinical trial, Dr. Gill's research group demonstrated that functional decline among frail older persons can be prevented through a prehabilitation program targeting underlying impairments in physical capabilities. He has led and/or played major roles on many multi-site clinical trials, including an ongoing multi-site pragmatic trial that is comparing clinical outcomes and health care utilization of a health system-based dementia care program, a community-based dementia care program, and usual care. He has recently established a working group in the medical school on translational geroscience, which includes an annual pilot grant program and visiting professorship.
Dr. Gill directs the Center on Disability and Disabling Disorders, which conducts longitudinal studies and clinical trials to enhance the scientific knowledge base of the disablement process and to rigorously evaluate promising intervention strategies. The Center includes an expanding number of clinical investigators, across disciplines, who are pursuing aging research related to disability and disabling disorders. This includes functional assessment in general as well as the functional consequences of highly prevalent disease-specific conditions such as arthritis, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), influenza, diabetes, stroke, depression, dementia, sleep deficiency, critical illness and major surgery. Under Dr. Gill's direction, the Center has acquired significant expertise with the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), an ongoing, nationally representative longitudinal study of 7,600+ community-living persons aged 65 years or older, which is serving as a primary data source for several projects related to the epidemiology of disability, including a recently funded R01 from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities: "A Multifactorial Approach to Evaluating Disparities in Outcomes after Major Surgery in Disadvantaged Older Persons".
1. Yale PEP Study: Epidemiology of Disability and Recovery in Older Persons
2. NHATS: A Multifactorial Approach to Evaluating Disparities in Outcomes after Major Surgery in Disadvantaged Older Persons
3. Yale PEP Study: Distressing Symptoms and Disability Before and After Sentinel Health Events among Community-living Older Persons
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Thomas M. Gill, MD, is the director of the Yale Program on Aging, Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, and Yale Center for Disability and Disabling Disorders. His clinical practice specializes in Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia and old-age frailty. He says a “commitment to serving vulnerable populations, including older people,” led him into the field of geriatrics.
A leading authority on the epidemiology and prevention of disability among older persons, Dr. Gill says trends are strongly in favor of people leading full lives as they age. “Because of advancements in the field, each generation of older persons has led healthier and more productive lives relative to the prior generation,” he says.
His own research has shown that preventive rehabilitation of minor physical infirmities keeps older persons from developing serious disabilities. That is just one strategy he and his fellow physicians at Yale Medicine use to keep older people healthy and active. “We implement a case management model, in which the physician works in partnership with a team of outstanding case managers,” he says. “We will carefully listen to their concerns and make recommendations based on their preferences and goals of care.” Dr. Gill is a professor of medicine (geriatrics), of epidemiology (chronic diseases) and of investigative medicine at Yale School of Medicine.
Clinical Specialties
News & Links
Media
- This figure provides the conceptual framework for the research proposed in our newly funded R01 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
News
- May 09, 2025
Geographic Location Affects Health Risks in Older Adults
- April 03, 2025
Identifying Factors Associated With Diminished Active Life Expectancy Among Older Adults
- March 27, 2025
One in Five People with Dementia Receive No Care, Global Study Finds
- January 30, 2025
Study finds no differences between dementia care approaches on patient behavioral symptoms or caregiver strain
Get In Touch
Contacts
Dorothy Adler Geriatric Assessment Center
874 Howard Avenue
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
Administrative Support
Locations
E.S. Harkness Memorial Hall, Building A
Academic Office
367 Cedar Street, Ste Rm 317a
New Haven, CT 06510