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Jeremy Walston, Johns Hopkins Human Aging Project founder, dies
Dr. Jeremy Walston, who founded the Johns Hopkins Human Aging Project, died of glioblastoma June 10 at Gilchrist Center Baltimore. The Bolton Hill resident was 64.
Born in Bowling Green, Ohio, he was the son of Gene Walston, a farmer, and Genevieve Walston, a homemaker who later worked for Verizon.
Dr. Walston earned degrees at Capital University and the University of Cincinnati before moving to Baltimore and doing a general internal medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, also at Hopkins.
Dr. Theodore DeWeese, dean of the Hopkins School of Medicine, said, 'Jeremy represented what it is to be a great Johns Hopkins faculty member. He brought the best care to patients in a kind and humane way.'
'He was a tremendous mentor and team builder. He brought nurses, public health professionals and engineers together,' said Dr. Cynthia M. Boyd, director of the Hopkins Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology division. 'He was also an exceptional scientist, a pioneer in the field of aging, biology and the field of frailty and resilience.'
Dr. Walston met his partner and future husband, George Lavdas, at a party in 1982 at the Lawyer's Club at the University of Michigan Law School.
'His passion for the elderly began at a young age — at age 20,' Mr. Lavdas said. 'He was kind and caring. Jeremy also had a love of preserving nature, birds and the environment.'
His sister, Wendy Walston Vaughn, said, 'Jeremy loved his family and friends. You could tell by how kind and generous he was. He was always reaching out to people to see how they were doing.'
A Sun article, published in 2022, explained that the project he founded brought together a group of experts at at Bayview to better understand what causes age-related problems, with the goal of slowing or even fixing them.
'We're not aiming for people to live forever,' said Dr. Walston. 'But if we can slow the progression of disease and decline, that 10 to 20 years people live with disability, we can give them a better quality of life. We'll probably increase longevity as well.'
The Sun's article said Dr. Walston conceived of the idea while treating his senior patients with cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions that develop over time. He wanted to improve their daily lives, and investigate the biological underpinnings of aging to improve later therapies or prevention strategies.
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When the project launched, Dr. Walston described it as a 'big umbrella' of expertise from areas that include medical care, research, artificial intelligence and technology, engineering and business.
Dr. Walston said he wanted equity and diversity to be an 'important element' of the aging project.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. June 20 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 14545 New Rochester Road in Pemberville, Ohio. A memorial service in Baltimore is being planned.
Survivors include his husband and partner for more than 43 years, George Lavdas; two sons, Oliver Walston-Lavdas, of Baltimore and Alexander 'Alex' Walston-Lavdas, of Cocoa, Florida; a sister, Wendy Walston Vaughn, of Pemberville, Ohio; a step-mother, Ellen Walston, of Pemberville; two step-brothers, Brent Sandberg, of Perrysburg, Ohio and Justin Sandberg, of Pemberville.
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