Juliessa Pavon

Juliessa Pavon serves as Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Professor in Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, and Associate Professor in Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, where she is also a Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.

Her academic training includes:

• M.D. from University of Florida College of Medicine (2007)
• Residency at Duke University School of Medicine (2007-2010)
• Geriatrics Fellowship at Duke University School of Medicine (2010-2011)

Dr. Pavon's research centers on geriatric pharmacotherapy with particular emphasis on deprescribing central nervous system medications, polypharmacy management, and fall prevention in older adults. She integrates clinical geriatrics with biostatistics to investigate hearing loss-fall relationships, develop machine learning tools for medication optimization, and implement age-friendly care systems using electronic health record data. Her work bridges hospital medicine, aging research, and health services innovation to address critical gaps in medication safety for elderly populations.

Analysis of her 2024-2025 publications reveals a cohesive research trajectory focused on deprescribing science, with 8 of 10 recent papers examining CNS medication discontinuation, polypharmacy reduction, and related outcomes. Her scholarship increasingly incorporates health informatics approaches, including machine learning applications and EHR-based intervention studies, while maintaining strong clinical epidemiology foundations. Collaborative work spans biostatistics, communication sciences, and health policy domains.

Her active grant portfolio demonstrates sustained NIH and foundation support:

• Leveraging EHR for Age-Friendly Care (LEAF) - Ohio State University (2025-2029)
• Machine Learning for CNS Polypharmacy - NIH (2024-2029)
• Hearing Loss-Falls Mechanisms - NIDCD (2023-2028)
• CARiNG-StARR Residency Program - NIH (2020-2025)
• Hearing Healthcare Interventions - NIH (2021-2024)
• CNS Medication Deprescribing - NIH (2019-2024)
• Hartford Centers of Excellence (2015-2016)
• Peri-operative Care Model - Hartford Foundation (2014-2016)
• VTE Prophylaxis Guidelines - NIH/Health in Aging Foundation (2014-2016)

As Bass Connections Team Leader for "Impact of Face Covering on Patient Communication" (2020-2021) and principal investigator for the LEAF initiative, she directs multidisciplinary teams developing interventions to optimize geriatric care delivery and communication in clinical settings.