Our Members

Lauren Gerlach, D.O., M.S., is a geriatric psychiatrist and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Her research is focused on understanding trends and appropriate use of psychotropic medications among older adults, including evaluating how psychotropic medications are utilized in end-of-life care. She has used national survey and administrative claims data to evaluate the growth of central nervous system (CNS) medication polypharmacy use among older adults and to understand how health systems respond to warnings (e.g., from the U.S. FDA) for psychotropic medications. Her work aims to inform safe and rationale psychotropic medication prescribing among older adults with mental health and cognitive disorders--including understanding how to best target appropriate treatment to patients that would benefit from treatment the most.