The Geras Centre for Aging Research based at Hamilton Health Sciences’ (HHS) St. Peter’s Hospital is bringing the latest breakthroughs in healthy aging and geriatric care to listeners across Canada and around the world through its newly launched podcast series, GeriEvidence.
Geras is a centre at HHS that’s affiliated with McMaster University. It’s home to top Canadian researchers, including HHS health-care providers who also lead groundbreaking studies into healthy aging and geriatric care.
Sharing the latest research on digital airwaves
The podcast series features guest experts from Geras, HHS, McMaster and around the world, and is available on Spotify and the Geras website. It’s hosted by Dr. Alexandra Papaioannou, Geras’ executive director and an award-winning geriatrician, professor of medicine at McMaster, and Tier 1 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) chair. GeriEvidence is supported by the CIHR Institute of Aging and the Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging, which Papaioannou received in 2023.
“GeriEvidence is a great way for us to share the important work and research happening here in Hamilton and around the world,” says Papaioannou, adding that episodes are released monthly, with each lasting about 25 minutes. “We’re filling a niche market, because there are very few podcasts offering such information at this level of expertise.”
Each episode focuses on a different aspect of aging research and geriatric care, with topics so far including fall prevention, delirium, dementia, innovations in hospital care, and geroscience — the biological processes that drive aging and increase the risk of age-related disease.
Launched in December 2024, the first few episodes were aimed at health-care professionals, but in the spring of 2025 the focus shifted to the general public.
“What we do in geriatrics is so important to people’s quality of life, so we want to share the very best evidence-based information with as wide an audience as possible,” says Papaioannou, who produces GeriEvidence with a small team that includes Dr. Tricia Woo, an HHS geriatrician and professor in McMaster’s department of medicine; Dr. Patricia Hewston, an occupational therapist, Geras research associate and assistant clinical professor of rehabilitation science at McMaster; and Geras research assistant Caroline Marr.
Welcoming renowned guests
The most recent episode welcomed geriatrician Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, professor of medicine and clinical research professor of frailty and aging at Dalhousie University, and one of the world’s leading voices on frailty. A member of the Order of Canada, Rockwood has shaped the field through more than 600 peer-reviewed publications and nine books, transforming how clinicians and policymakers think about aging.
In conversation with Papaioannou, Rockwood unpacks Frailty: What It Is and What Can Be Done, explaining why frailty matters for every health-care setting, how to recognize it early, and which practical, evidence-based steps can turn the frailty journey into an opportunity for healthier, more person-centred aging.
Renowned Hamilton geriatricians Dr. Irene Turpie and Dr. Christopher Patterson were interviewed for a segment on the history of geriatric care nationally and globally. Both worked at HHS St. Peter’s Hospital before retiring and are now professors emeriti at McMaster.
Guest experts from HHS have also included Dr. Anthony Levinson, a psychiatrist at HHS Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre, where many of his patients are older adults. Levinson is also a researcher and the director of McMaster’s division of e-learning innovation.
Levinson chatted with Papaioannou about online solutions for delivering high-quality health education on aging to the public and health-care professionals. The dementia risk reduction e-lesson developed by Levinson and his team is an excellent example of how evidence-based research translates into practical, hands-on support for Canadians interested in improving their brain health and reducing their risk of dementia.
Future podcasts will revisit delirium, fall prevention and healthy aging as topics, because they’re pressing issues for many older adults and the people caring for them, says Papaioannou. “We want to be evidence-informed and helpful for the public in a very practical way.”
Other guests have included Dr. Gustavo Duque, a distinguished geriatrician and biomedical scientist in Montreal and geriatrician Dr. Roger Wong from British Columbia, who was appointed to the Order of Canada. Dr. Kelly Kay, executive director of Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario (PGLO), joined Papaioannou to share her leadership journey in health-care transformation and highlight the importance of collaboration in improving geriatric care across Ontario and beyond.
Toronto physicians Dr. Amy Freedman and Dr. Morna McDougall, co-leads of the Preventative Care for Older People (PCOP) tool, were also guests. The PCOP tool is a resource created to help doctors and health-care teams provide better care for adults aged 65 and older. It’s designed to streamline preventive care for older adults, particularly those with multiple complex conditions.
“Our podcast is an exciting new way for us to share pearls of wisdom and the incredible research happening in Hamilton, Canada and around the world,” says Papaioannou.
“With GeriEvidence, everyone has the opportunity to have the most leading-edge, up-to-date information from geriatric care experts, scientists and researchers at their fingertips.”
Have an idea for a future episode or feedback to share? Email the GeriEvidence team at gerievidence@gmail.com
By Lindsey Furlanic