Peggy M. Cawthon, Scientific Director of CPMC Research Institute, specializes in the areas of sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and osteoporosis. She serves as the Principal Investigator of the multicenter MrOS cohort study, an observational study that focuses on aging in older men, with a particular emphasis on sarcopenia, fractures, and osteoporosis. In addition to this, Dr. Cawthon has played a key role in developing evidence-based definitions for sarcopenia using data from various national and international datasets.

Dr. Cawthon has also pioneered the use of the novel D3Cr muscle mass measure in large studies of older adults. She is an active mentor to several junior investigators and has collaborated on numerous projects, including SOMMA, Health ABC, Framingham, the Tobago Health Study, MOST, VITAL, and several clinical trials. With over 250 published papers and several book chapters to her credit, Dr. Cawthon is the Principal Investigator of several NIH grant awards.