Our team
Sarah Marrs, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Gerontology
Director of Research, Virginia Center on Aging
Email: marrssa@vcu.edu
Expertise
- Abuse in Later Life
- Ageism
- Workforce Enhancement
Education
- PhD in Research & Evaluation, Virginia Commonwealth University
- MA in Psychological Sciences, James Madison University
- BS in Psychology, Virginia Tech
Research Interests
- The Intersection of elder Abuse and Ageism
- Structural Ageism
- Interprofessional Geriatric Workforce Enhancement
Bio
Dr. Marrs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gerontology and the Director of Research for the Virginia Center on Aging. She teaches statistics and research methodology courses and oversees CIRCAA - a faculty and clinician professional development program focused on interprofessional geriatrics. Her research interests focus on the impact of ageism on healthcare, professionals’ recognition of and response to elder mistreatment and geriatrics workforce enhancement through interprofessional training. She is the Principal Investigator of the Virginia HEAR project and Co-Principal Investigator of the Greater Richmond Elder Justice Shelter Initiative, both federally funded projects awarded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL).
Highlights
- Distinguished Faculty Award for Research, 2025
- Commonwealth Council on Aging’s Best Practices Award, 3rd Place, 2025
- SGS Best Practices Award (CIRCAA)
- Visiting Scholar, University of Oxford, 2016