Peggy Cawthon, Ph.D., MPH
Investigator
Dr. Cawthon’s research on sarcopenia and age-related physical decline showed that tests of muscle strength and walking speed can help predict disability in older adults.
Using data from several ongoing large-cohort studies, she and colleagues at the San Francisco Coordinating Center (SFCC) study muscle and bone loss in older men; the association between vitamin D and mortality; risk factors for osteoporotic fractures in older women and men; and predictors of frailty in the elderly.
As part of her role at the SFCC, Dr. Cawthon co-leads multi-center observational studies, including the Study of Osteoporosis in Men (MrOS) and the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) in women, and has analyzed data from the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) and Framingham studies.
Dr. Cawthon collaborates with other longevity researchers at CPMC's Research Institute (CPMCRI) and the SFCC. She is the Scientific Director of research at CPMCRI.
Dr. Cawthon received her Ph.D. and M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley.