Takeaway
By constantly challenging me to connect my decisions back to the patient’s real needs, Dr. Walston pushed me to become a more thoughtful and compassionate clinician-scientist, always grounding my care and research in what matters most to those I serve.
Passion in the Medical Profession | July 8, 2025 | 2 min read
By Peter Abadir, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Not a meeting with Dr. Jeremy Walston went by without him asking it, quietly, sincerely: “Why should we care?” He didn’t mean it rhetorically. Whether we were deep in data or chasing molecular pathways, he wanted to know: How will this help the patient?
That question still echoes.
Jeremy passed away this June after courageously fighting illness. He was a towering presence in frailty research, but what set him apart wasn’t his titles, it was his relentless focus on making science meaningful. He never lost sight of the patient at the center of it all.
Science that served the bedside
Jeremy helped define frailty as we know it today. Through his work with his colleagues, he co-developed the frailty phenotype, bringing clarity to what clinicians were sensing at the bedside but couldn’t yet measure.
But he wasn’t interested in definitions for their own sake. He wanted to know how these ideas would improve care. Would they help identify vulnerable patients earlier? Prevent decline? Shape better decisions?
His lab explored the biology behind frailty, chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, immune dysregulation, but every experiment circled back to the same core: Why should we care? How does this help older adults live better lives?
Mentorship as a form of care
Jeremy mentored more than 100 trainees across medicine, biology, and engineering. He didn’t speak loudly, but his impact ran deep. He would stay late to help you revise a draft, write the recommendation letter you didn’t ask for, or connect two people across silos just because he saw the spark of an idea. He brought the same attentiveness to mentoring as he did to clinical care. You always felt seen.
Carrying the question forward
Jeremy’s legacy isn’t just in the studies he published or the programs he built. It’s in the question he kept asking, and the way he lived it.
Here are a few ways I’ll honor him. I hope you’ll join me.
1. Ask why it matters. Keep the patient at the center of your work. Jeremy’s research never lost sight of who it was for.
2. Mentor intentionally and with humility.
3. Make time for learners, even if it’s just a few minutes. Make room for others to grow.
4. Bridge the lab and the bedside. Let science serve care.
5. Value rigor over flash. Good science speaks for itself.
6. Stay curious. Keep asking what we’re missing and help someone find it.
Jeremy Walston didn’t just define frailty, he redefined how to be a clinician-scientist: curious, humble, generous. He didn’t walk the easiest path, but he made it one that others could follow.
And we will.
On behalf of all of Jeremy’s mentees, who will carry his question forward.
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This piece expresses the views solely of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of any organization, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.