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Kenneth Edwin Schmader

Professor of Medicine
Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care
Duke Box 3003, Center for Aging, Durham, NC 27710
Duke University Medical Center, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC 27705

Overview


Dr. Schmader’s areas of research include herpes zoster, infections, and vaccines in older adults.  He conducts translational, clinical trials and observational studies of zoster, influenza, and other infections funded by grants from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), VA Office of Research and Development, and Industry sources.  He has played a pivotal role in the development of zoster vaccines in older adults.  Dr. Schmader also performs research in medications and older adults, focusing on pharmacoepidemiology, optimal drug use and reduction of adverse drug reactions.

He is the Director of the NIA-funded P30 Duke Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Co-investigator of the NIAID funded Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICS) and the CDC Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) office at Duke.  He serves on the Working Groups for the Herpes Zoster, Influenza, COVID-19, RSV and General Adult Immunization Guidelines for the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and is the American Geriatrics Society liaison to the ACIP.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Medicine · 2007 - Present Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Medicine
Director of the GRECC and ACOS for Geriatrics and Extended Care · 2007 - Present Medicine, Clinical Science Departments
Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development · 1989 - Present Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published January 20, 2021
The COVID Vaccine: Risks vs. Benefits
Published June 13, 2016
Eleanor McConnell, Kenneth Schmader, co-authors: Medicare redesign needed in Health Professional Shortage Areas

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Recent Publications


Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use among older veterans with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) - a retrospective cohort study.

Journal Article BMC Pulm Med · April 21, 2025 BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a deadly respiratory disease of older patients. IPF therapies (antifibrotics) are efficacious in slowing disease progression, but they are critically underutilized. Potential barriers to antifibrotic use a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Can Pharmacogenetics Be Used to Predict the Response to Fesoterodine Fumarate?

Journal Article Urogynecology (Phila) · February 14, 2025 IMPORTANCE: Pharmacogenetics could address the challenge of predicting an individual's response to anticholinergic medications for urgency urinary incontinence (UUI). OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to evaluate whether the metabolizer status of cytochrome ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neutralizing Antibody Immune Correlates for a Recombinant Protein Vaccine in the COVAIL Trial.

Journal Article Clin Infect Dis · February 5, 2025 For COVAIL recipients of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Sanofi booster vaccine, neutralizing antibody titers were assessed as a correlate of risk (CoR) of COVID-19. Peak and exposure-proximal titers were inverse CoRs with covariate-adjusted hazard r ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Duke/UNC ADAR Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

CISA 2023 Clinical Contributing Task 2

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · 2023 - 2028

CISA 2023 Clinical Contributing Task 1

ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · 2023 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


Wake Forest University · 1980 M.D.