Lynne Iannone, research associate in the Section of Geriatrics, retired on June 30, 2023, after nearly 30 years at Yale.
“We are grateful to Lynne for her dedication to internal medicine and wish her the best as she starts her next chapter,” said Mark A. Holter, CMPE, CPA, vice chair, finance and administration.
Iannone first joined the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale in 1984. She subsequently moved to New Jersey but returned to Connecticut and Yale in 1994, when she began working for the Program on Aging. Iannone has run multiple studies for a variety of Yale investigators throughout her career.
“I worked with a great group of principal investigators and coworkers,” Iannone said, noting her colleagues’ strong experience and sense of humor. “Our section was unique in the sense that we retained our staff by cross-training them for different types of research studies.”
Richard Marottoli, MD, MPH, professor of medicine (geriatrics), is one of many who have enjoyed working with Iannone over the years. “Her energy, enthusiasm, creativity, all-around capability, and ability to troubleshoot and to get things done are second to none,” he said.
Iannone is a powerhouse, according to Mary Geda, associate director at the Program on Aging. “Her impact on the Program on Aging has been extraordinary—supporting countless research projects, investigators, and patients,” Geda said. “She cares about aging research, but more importantly, she cares about the people who are part of the aging research program. We are incredibly lucky to have worked with her.”
Iannone’s contributions are woven into the fabric of the geriatrics research program, said Terri Fried, MD, Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and section chief. “Without her project management and extraordinary ability to solve just about any problem that came her way, we would not have the contributions that this program has made to our knowledge of everything from identifying the older at-risk driver to preventing disability through exercise to doing advance care planning,” she said.
Iannone has been the go-to person for many things, including completing Institutional Review Board (IRB) proposals, recruiting in the community, capturing the attention of study participants, and building strong research teams, Fried noted. Iannone added to the spirit and warmth of research teams and ensured that all special occasions were recognized, with a delicious baked good that literally sweetened the celebration, Fried said.
“Personally, I would not have been able to carry out my research program if it wasn’t for Lynne’s enthusiasm, dedication, and get-it-done attitude,” Fried added. “She will be deeply missed.”
In her retirement, Iannone plans to travel, volunteer, obtain a certification to teach yoga, and visit her new granddaughter in Tennessee. She also looks forward to continuing to work at the Program on Aging on a casual basis.