Michael Lepore

Michael Lepore was appointed associate dean of research at the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing in 2023.

Before joining UMass Amherst, he served as co-director of the Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research and as a professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

Lepore’s research focuses on improving dementia care and residential long-term care. As associate dean, he secured a three-year, $1 million Alzheimer’s Disease Program Initiative grant from the Administration for Community Living to support the UMass Flagship Initiative for Research-Based Social Therapeutics (UMass FIRST). This initiative aims to expand access to evidence-based services for individuals living with dementia across the Commonwealth and to provide training for caregivers and direct support professionals caring for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and dementia.

Lepore has contributed to the scholarly community through service and leadership roles in organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Gerontological Society of America. He earned his PhD in sociology from Georgia State University and completed postdoctoral training in health services research at the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research at Brown University. For fifteen years following his postdoctoral training, he served as adjunct research faculty at Brown while leading research initiatives funded by government agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

Lepore has also contributed to the field of gerontology through editorial leadership. He served as associate editor of the Gerontological Society of America’s policy journal Public Policy & Aging Report for four years before becoming editor-in-chief in 2024.