Q: How long have you been a GSA member?
A: I am celebrating one year of membership; I joined in June 2024.
Q: How specifically has membership in GSA benefitted you?
A: At this early point in my career, it has not been feasible to bear the same stewardship that our gerontologists strive for in research and community. For me, GSA has been the bridge between interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and international progress toward addressing an aging population around the world. As a member, I have been mentored and have participated in our efforts on initiatives such as the Careers In Aging Month program, where we aimed to educate societies on ageism by organizing an event with community partners. Yet, while I’ve always strived to do more for these patients, clients, and families in Canada; GSA’s works extend so much further. GSA’s enriched programs have connected me with interest groups and resources to explore my passion for gerontology. For the past few years, the career I’ve been pursuing is studying medicine in palliative care and gerontological research. I never would’ve had such a clear vision of my future education and practices without access to the webinars detailing the experiences of GSA members who have traveled further down this path. With so little information out there, GSA has played a major role in my professional development, so I only hope to give back as a volunteer with the Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization
Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: Early in life, I got a chance to visit a lady residing in a long-term care home. She was left there alone by her family and shortly passed away. This spark turned my desire to help people into a desire to help older adults and to help them now. I’ve always been involved in community programs, and after volunteering much of my time, the struggles within an aging demographic have truly been cemented within my own reality. This has led me to be involved in research within my undergraduate studies, and the exposure has made me passionate about medicine and clinical research in the field of aging.
Q: What projects are you working on in your current position?
A: I am currently involved in a project related to developing treatments for loneliness through animal models for long-term human attachment. This first project studies vocal communication as a specific behavior which initiates and sustains social bonds, and I have been looking at the vocal neural network in the socially monogamous prairie vole with Dr. Morgan L. Gustison.
My current second project has been collecting and analyzing data within a hospital clinic to create a fall prediction model for older adults. This interdisciplinary work has allowed me to conduct and integrate clinical and biomechanical research with the geriatrician Dr. Jaspreet Bhangu and rehabilitation expert Dr. Janelle Unger.
Q: What do you love most about your line of work?
A: I love interacting with others and giving genuine care in all my work. In research, I hope my studies promote joy and give us time to pursue meaning in our lives. As a physician, I wish to be a trustful presence that makes the hard decisions less scary and not done alone.
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: The best advice I got was to pursue what I was interested in, and it came from the first meeting I ever held with a professor. I believe this advice relates to many and is a great reminder for all.