Q: How long have you been a GSA member?
A: I first became a GSA member in 2009 during my Post-Doctoral Fellowship. I was elected as a GSA Fellow in 2017.
Q: Do you have a GSA resource that has been your “go-to” for keeping you engaged with the Society?
A: GSA has many valuable resources that keep me engaged and connected with others in the scientific community. My typical ‘go-to’ GSA resources are those dedicated to supporting professional development at all career stages. Here, I provide a few recommendations for initiatives in which I am involved. I joined the GSA Mentoring Committee in 2016. From that time, two outstanding resources have emerged; the Mentoring Consultancies and Career Conversations. The Mentoring Consultancies is an annual event that takes place during the GSA Annual Meeting. This 90-minute session gives students, post-doctoral fellows, and early-career faculty opportunities to interact with accomplished mentors about topics such as publishing, creating strong grant teams, navigating the tenure and promotion process, and securing academic and non-academic employment. Career Conversations are regularly hosted virtual sessions that invite panelists (often GSA Fellows) to discuss relevant topics related to careers in gerontology (e.g., maximizing mentorship, building research teams, sabbatical opportunities, interviewing for tenure track positions). Another amazing resource is the Advancing Gerontology through Exceptional Scholarship (AGES) Program, an initiative I co-founded in 2022 and still co-lead today. This innovative, competitive GSA program is a tremendous resource for new and early-career faculty members because of its focus on accelerating collective scholarship and productivity through team science and writing peer-reviewed publications. Finally, GSA has many Interest Groups that unify members around cross-disciplinary aging topics. These are tremendous outlets for cutting-edge science, forming collaborations, and amplifying GSA’s voice regarding a particular issue. I am currently a co-convener of the GSA Loneliness and Social Isolation Interest Group and encourage members to join us in promoting social connection among older adults.
Q: In what ways has membership in GSA benefitted you?
A: GSA serves as my "scholarly home" because it offers a collaborative environment that nurtures my research productivity and professional growth. Membership in GSA gives me a deeper understanding about current scientific advancements in gerontology and practical strategies for improving the health and lives of older adults. GSA has provided me with opportunities to form cross-disciplinary collaborations and action-focused interactions with driven scholars from across the globe. Beyond the scholastic enrichment that GSA offers, it has been instrumental in my creation of long-term research partnerships, life-long colleagues, and lasting professional friendships. GSA has helped me form a network that fuels my passion for creating tangible, positive advancements in the field of aging.
Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: In my MPH and doctoral studies, I was initially trained as an evaluator focused on the health risk behaviors of youth and college students (e.g., substance use, sexual activity). However, my career trajectory transformed during my Post-Doctoral Fellowship when my mentor, Dr. Marcia Ory, introduced me to the field of aging. My gateway into this new arena was analyzing a statewide dataset for A Matter of Balance, an evidence-based fall prevention program (EBFPP). This public health issue immediately captivated me. I was intrigued by the complex, individualistic, and multi-factorial causes of falls, as well as the multi-directional nature of fall-related risk. From that time, I committed to deepening my knowledge about evidence-based programs (EBP) for older adults (e.g., chronic disease self-management, physical activity, nutrition), and I was welcomed by leaders in the national EBP movement. This led to me analyzing national datasets, collaborating with EBP developers, and partnering with entities offering EBPs throughout that aging network. Since that pivotal transition, I have evaluated over 35 EBP. Additionally, I have developed EBP and translated EBP to enhance their uptake and dissemination in the United States. Looking back, I am fortunate and thankful that I was introduced to the field of aging. It has allowed me to develop innovative solutions and cross-sectorial processes that help older adults access the resources needed to manage their conditions, prevent negative health consequences, and live independently with dignity.
Q: What do you love most about your line of work?
A: I truly love my work because it offers the perfect intersection of rigorous science, meaningful human connection, and purposeful, tangible impact. It combines the intellectual excitement of discovery with the tangible reward of fostering a new generation of scientists and building a better world where healthy aging is the ‘new normal.’ I am energized by the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of society through the development and dissemination of evidence. I am driven by the practical implications of my work, which ensure that findings translate into replicable, effective interventions and solutions that genuinely improve the lives of older adults. Beyond the projects and data, my work is enriched by the people I have the pleasure of working with. This includes my collaborators, my mentees, my mentors, and the older adults we serve. I am deeply passionate about fostering mentorship and opportunities for continuous professional development because shared knowledge and multi-disciplinary collaborative efforts are the most sustainable pathways to high-impact productivity and long-term success.
Q: What projects are you working on in your current position?
A: As an evaluator, my research addresses health risk across the life-course, chronic disease management, and the dissemination of evidence-based solutions for older adults. I have devoted my career to creating synergistic partnerships and initiatives to encourage positive lifestyles and reduce preventable morbidity and mortality. Many of my funded projects examine the feasibility of delivering practical and applied innovations in diverse settings as well as their implementation with fidelity, health impact, scalability, and sustainability. Generally, my translational work strives to bridge research and practice issues across the health care sector, aging services network, and public health system.
Here, I highlight a few selected current projects aiming to expand the evidence for effective programs and services that promote social connection among older adults. I have initiated projects that focus on risk identification and mitigation strategies pertaining to social disconnectedness. My efforts to understand older adults’ social-emotional risk profiles and intervene with practical and tailored solutions facilitate meaningful interactions among peers, family, and clinical and community providers. Given my experience with evidence-based programs for older adults, and their theorized benefits of regular small-group interactions for a common goal, I am actively examining the ‘indirect benefits’ of fall prevention and chronic disease self-management programs to improve social connection. I developed the Upstream Social Interaction Risk Scale (
U-SIRS-13
), a scale to assess threats to social connection among older adults, which are incorporated into multiple studies, surveys, and national evaluation initiatives. To identify the practical impact of programs and services to improve social connection, I recently concluded a national pilot across 40+ organizations to validate two retrospective measures: Retrospective Assessment of Connection Impact (RACI) and Retrospective Brief Assessment of Social Impact and Connection (R-BASIC). These measures were developed in direct response to the outcry of community-based organizations for practical tools capable of identifying the impact and value of their programs and services. The RACI has been built into two national Communities of Practice. Further, I develop and evaluate interventions delivered in group and 1-on-1 formats to improve social connection, including those delivered by Meals on Wheels sites and led by Community Health Workers. Lastly, I am conducting a meta-umbrella review to identify what is known about the effectiveness of interventions to improve structure, function, and quality aspects of social connection.
Aligned with my dedication to mentorship and professional development, I created the Healthy Aging Writing Lab (HAWL), a replicable campus-based initiative that unites faculty and students to generate aging research and write peer-reviewed manuscripts for publication. HAWL helps campuses foster a collaborative environment to amplify research productivity by supporting scholarship, leveraging collective expertise, and celebrating shared successes.
Q: What was the best piece of advice you got early on in your career you’d like to pass on to emerging gerontologists?
A: We are all on our own academic and career journeys. We have unique backgrounds, training, skillsets, and interests. As you progress through your career, be cognizant to ‘run your own race.’ Avoid comparing your productivity, successes, and accolades to those of others. Scholarship and the pursuit of knowledge should not be viewed as a competition. Set your pace for productivity and surround yourself with supportive and nurturing colleagues. Actively seek mentorship throughout your career.