The Drs. Mark A. and Katherine P. Supiano Endowed Fund for Academic Excellence in Geriatrics was established to advance excellence in education, research, and academic leadership in geriatrics at the University of Utah. As the needs of an aging population continue to grow, this endowment provides enduring support to ensure faculty and scholars have the protected time and resources needed to lead, innovate, and educate in this vital field.
The purpose of the fund is to promote and support academic excellence through perpetual expendable awards. These awards are intended to protect a portion of a recipient’s professional effort to focus on academic career advancement, support travel to present research findings or attend professional meetings, and offset other costs associated with scholarly productivity. By removing barriers to academic success, the Supiano Endowed Fund in Geriatrics helps cultivate the next generation of leaders in geriatric care. Over time, when the endowment has grown to a sufficient level, it will support the creation of an endowed professorship in geriatrics, ensuring long-term impact and national leadership.
This fund honors the extraordinary careers and shared commitment of Drs. Katherine P. Supiano and Mark A. Supiano, whose work has profoundly shaped geriatric care, education, and research.
Dr. Katherine Supiano is a PhD-prepared, licensed clinical social worker and professor emerita of the University of Utah College of Nursing. She served as director of Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program, the University of Utah’s bereavement care initiative serving the Intermountain West. With more than 45 years of clinical experience in geriatrics, palliative care, and grief therapy, Kathie has devoted her career to caring for older adults and families facing chronic illness, end-of-life concerns, and loss. Her work has also included elder abuse and neglect, geriatric care management, and nursing home advocacy.
Dr. Mark Supiano is a nationally recognized geriatrician who led the University of Utah School of Medicine Geriatrics Division and the campus-wide Center on Aging programs. His research is focused in geriatric hypertension and the age-related physiological changes in the vascular system that contribute to the age-related increase in blood pressure, such as arterial stiffness, and that are known to predict cognitive impairment. Former president of the American Geriatrics Society and current fellow of both the American Geriatrics Society and the Gerontological Society of America, he has received national awards for his
