Denise Orwig is a gerontologist specializing in biobehavioral aspects of aging with extensive expertise in studying older adults, both in community and hospital settings. She is director of the Baltimore Hip Studies (BHS), a research program dedicated to optimizing recovery from hip fracture, and has established collaborative relationships with key medical personnel in 25 hospitals in the greater Baltimore area, Washington D.C., and southern Pennsylvania.

Dr. Orwig’s primary research expertise is in the areas of hip fracture recovery, intervention trials, and longitudinal research methods, including study design, recruitment and retention strategies, conducting performance measures, developing interventions to maximize recovery, and translating interventions into the community. She has led eight cohort studies including more than 3,500 hip fracture patients and four randomized trials involving large interdisciplinary research teams. Dr. Orwig is currently the director of the Clinical Coordinating Center for a Phase III RCT testing two physical therapy interventions post-hip fracture.

Dr. Orwig’s second area of research expertise is in pharmacoepidemiology, particularly in medication management issues of older adults and improving treatment of osteoporosis after hip fracture. She developed an instrument, Medication Management Instrument for Deficiencies in the Elderly (MedMaIDE), to assess older adults’ ability to self-medicate safely in the community. This instrument is unique since it can be used by non-medically trained people (e.g., caregivers) to identify deficiencies of an older adult.

In addition to research activities, Dr. Orwig has been co-director of the joint campus Doctoral Program in Gerontology for six years. This is an interdisciplinary program in collaboration with the University of Maryland Baltimore County, with track specializations in epidemiology, policy, and sociocultural/behavioral sciences. She has extensive experience with mentoring and advising doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty.