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April 2013

What’s Hot? Aging Research!

By Featured, Mitochondria

Trojans of all scientific stripes shone at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s fourth annual interdisciplinary symposium, “What’s Hot in Aging Research at USC.”

Organized by USC Leonard Davis assistant professor Sean Curran and associate dean Maria Henke, the conference was held on Monday, April 22 under the subtitle “Integrated Approaches to the Study of Aging.”

“I’m so delighted to see such an incredible turnout to this event. There’s so much exciting new work being done at our School and at USC,” said Davis School dean Pinchas Cohen. “Aging is at the forefront of what we think about as a society; it’s where our resources are being channeled; it is the lens through which we see the challenges and opportunities of the future.”

Curran chaired the first session, entitled “Nutrition, Metabolism, Aging,” which examined the biology and genetics behind longevity. Fielding questions about growth hormone injections, organic food and the role of the mitochondria in cellular aging, USC Leonard Davis Valter Longo and David Lee as well as Biological Science’s John Tower provided the scientific basis for the day’s remaining programs.

The second session, “The Future of Aging,” contained speakers from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, chaired by Susan Enguídanos, who began the panel with a discussion of end-of-life care trends, transitions and trepidations. Next up was Elizabeth Zelinski, who discussed the brain’s changing cognition with age after describing the Flynn Effect, which shows steady generational improvements for 18-year-olds in their ability to do well on IQ tests.

“So, like you’ve always thought, you are indeed smarter than your parents,” she joked. “Like your kids think…they’re probably smarter than you.”

The panel closed with Tara Gruenewald discussing the role of generativity—or the care, concern and cultivation directed towards younger generations—in helping people age with greater reports of happiness and health.

Before breaking for lunch, Cohen surprised everyone by presenting the Dean’s Medallion to attendee Mike Yamano, chancellor of Tokyo’s Yamano College.

“This is the greatest honor we can give to our partners and supporters and I am honored to recognize the distinguished career and contributions of Mike Yamano. A true gerontology ambassador, he has helped revolutionize the field with his innovative recognition of the link between aging and aesthetics,” Cohen said. “To quote Mike’s lifelong friend and the head of the USC Leonard Davis School Board of Councilors, Dr. Richard King, ‘Mike is a visionary, an entrepreneur and, most of all, a person with a fine spirit. I am so proud to have him and Yamano College associated with the USC Leonard Davis School.’”

“Dr. Cohen, USC and attendees: I am so honored. Thank you—this is indeed a surprise,” Yamano said. “I have been surprised many times in my 77 years, but the best and most beautiful surprise is to see so many wonderful people studying gerontology.”

After a lunchtime networking session, the USC Leonard Davis School’s Caleb Finch discussed his recent “mummy study” of atherosclerosis. He also chaired the third session, “The Aging Brain,” which included his Davis colleague Mara Mather discussing the positivity effect of older adults’ cognition as well as Dion Dickman from Neuroscience covering homeostasis and plasticity.

The final session, “Emerging Scholars,” was moderated by Curran, who gave USC Leonard Davis School postdoctoral researchers and doctoral students an opportunity to present their work. Mafalda Cacciottolo discussed APOE isoforms, Jeff Laguna discussed a pain management smartphone app and Morgan Levine discussed her study on the unique health resilience of long-lived smokers. As the conference wrapped up, Jennifer Ailshire presented her study on air pollution and the aging body and brain, which was particularly of interest to Southern Californians.

“LA has the highest level of fine particulates in the country. We’re all a vulnerable population. There’s a daily growing body of evidence showing the harmful effects of particulate air pollution, including respiratory and cardiovascular damage and compromised brain health and development,” Ailshire said. “The good news is that this is all preventable. We can all do something about air pollution. We all deserve to breathe clean air, regardless of where we live.”

Once more, “What’s Hot in Aging Research” helped to enlighten and empower attendees not only to appreciate the amazing aging-related work being done across USC’s campus, but to also reaffirm their commitment to their own.

“There’s just something special about the Trojan spirit,” said Cohen. “As always, it’s our pleasure to highlight the world-changing work USC researchers in all disciplines are doing. What’s hot in aging? USC research is!”

Hear We Are

By Featured

According to the World Health Organization, more than 360 million people around the world have disabling hearing loss, which includes one-third of all people over 65 years old and one-half of those older than 75.

To draw attention to this crucial area, the USC Emeriti Center, House Research Institute and USC Disability Services and Programs teamed up to present the 2013 Hearing Health Symposium at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology on Friday, April 19.

“No matter what your age, hearing clearly makes all the difference in quality of life. That’s why we held the USC Hearing Health Symposium: to showcase multiple perspectives discussing research, resources and how to find the best treatment for different types of hearing loss,” said Janette Brown, executive director of the USC Emeriti Center.

(l to r) James Boswell, CEO of the House Research Institute; Janette Brown, PhD, executive director of the USC Emeriti Center; Pinchas Cohen, MD, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School; John House, MD of the House Clinic and House Research Institute

(l to r) James Boswell, CEO of the House Research Institute; Janette Brown, PhD, executive director of the USC Emeriti Center; Pinchas Cohen, MD, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School; John House, MD of the House Clinic and House Research Institute

“Today’s event represents a tremendous opportunity to engage so many in an incredibly important topic. In gerontology, we talk a lot about the spans—life span, health span, wealth span—but I’d like to coin a new term today: hearing span,” said Pinchas Cohen, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School. “Hearing loss is in essence, an age-related disease. We have to address this more closely in the gerontology community and I’m looking forward to a partnership with the scientists and attendees of today’s event.”

The three panel discussions—“Exploring Your Hearing Health,” “Latest Research, Communication and Effective Self-Advocacy” and “What’s New – Assistive Devices, Technologies, Community Resources”—were moderated by James D. Boswell, CEO of the House Research Institute, Charlotte Schamadan of the House Research Institute and Kenneth J. Lopez of the USC Thornton School of Music respectively. The panels, organized by Marilee Potthoff from the House Research Institute, featured such speakers as the House Clinic and House Research Institute’s John W. House, Katherine Hammons of USC Disability Services, John Orr of the USC Emerti Center/USC Retired Faculty Association, Ryan Epoch of Contacta, Inc. and Roberta Smith of California Telephone Access Program.

Throughout the event, a Hearing Health Awareness fair was held in the USC Leonard Davis School courtyard, which included samples of a proposed shell-shaped, universal symbol designed by Mary Lou Dauray to indicate hearing loss.

“The time is ripe for a symbol to identify those with hearing loss as well as those situations detrimental and dangerous for the hearing-impaired,” Dauray said. “Whether it is worn as a pin or posted in areas or on products, the ‘Hear I Am’ logo elegantly communicates crucial concerns. Hearing loss is an invisible disability we should make visible.”

With questions and answer sessions, networking opportunities and multiple booths, panelists and attendees alike were able to reaffirm their commitment to increasing awareness, advocacy, treatment and options for those affected by hearing loss. Just as important, however, was the story of how the symposium came to be in the first place.

“I’m especially proud that today reminds us that USC’s retired faculty and staff are invaluable contributors to the USC community,” Brown said. “Today’s symposium took place because of the interest of professor emeritus John Orr. Every day and every year, the USC Emeriti Center is enriched and changed based on the wisdom of our retirees, and I encourage everyone to consider adding their unique voice to ours.”

The event, which was closed-captioned as well as made accessible by a sign language interpreter and hearing assistance devices, is also available in its entirety online at the USC Emeriti Center website (http://emeriti.usc.edu).

Gerontology Today; Gerontology Tomorrow

By Featured

The 33rd annual meeting of the California Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics (CCGG) proved a time for paying tribute to the past while looking towards the future. Held at USC’s Davidson Conference Center on Friday, April 12, the meeting’s theme was “Aligning Workforce Development with Behavioral Health Care Needs of Older Californians.”

CCGG_maria

Associate Dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and president of CCGG, Maria Henke

“It is so inspiring to see how far we have come, as a field and as an organization,” said Maria Henke, associate dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and president of CCGG. “This Meeting is always an opportunity to honor the pioneers of aging while also shining the spotlight on the next generation of leaders.”

With multiple poster and networking breakout sessions, the meeting also featured five panels: “Future Trends in Maximizing the Health & Wellbeing of California’s Diverse Older Adult Population: What The Data Tells Us”; “A National Call to Action: The Institute of Medicine Report on the Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults”; “Making the Most of the IoM Recommendations for California”; “Policy Opportunities In a Changing Health and Behavioral Health Delivery System”; and “Using Evidence-Based Practices with Diverse Community Populations.”

With a distinguished group of speakers who included Laura Trejo of the Los Angeles Department of Aging; Gretchen Alkema of the SCAN Foundation and JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez of the California Geriatric Education Center, the meeting also showcased the work of researchers both at USC and around the state.

CCGG_winners

Tara Gruenewald, PhD, Phoebe Liebig, PhD, and Patrick Beck

USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Trojans were especially well represented when it came to the award recipients: Phoebe Liebig won the Lifetime Achievement Award, Tara Gruenewald won the Betty and James E. Birren Emerging Leadership Award and Patrick Beck won the David A. Peterson Student Achievement Award. In fact, Beck used his acceptance speech to salute the legendary 95-year-old gerontologist.

“Jim Birren: thank you for creating CCGG and the field of gerontology as well as serving as the founding dean of the USC Leonard Davis School. Without you, none of us would be here today,” Beck said. “The day that I decided to study gerontology changed my life, and I say now to all the students present: I hope today is equally life-changing for you.”

Honoring both Birrens became a theme of the event, with a special slideshow tribute to the late Betty. Also thanking the first couple of gerontology was Jolene Fassbinder, the previous executive director for CCGG, who was visibly moved to tears when Henke surprised her with an award.

“Thank you everyone. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Jim and Betty Birren,” Fassbinder said. “Betty Birren was executive director of CCGG for 30 years. I am proud to have followed in her footsteps for seven.”

resized_CCGG_main

Dean Pinchas Cohen, MD and Jim Birren, PhD

The highlight of the event came with Birren himself took the podium, receiving a standing ovation as the slideshow featured images of his and Betty’s 70-year-long marriage.

“It takes a long time to raise a husband,” he said. “Betty and I have always been so proud of this meeting and so impressed with the vigor and vision of gerontologists. As we say at USC: Fight On!”

First-Rate Researchers

By Featured

USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology doctoral students Patrick Beck and Morgan Levine made a strong showing at USC’s Fifth Annual Graduate Research Symposium. Beck won first place in the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities category while Levine took third in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) category.

Beck presented research aimed at helping older or physically challenged adults remain in their homes longer by providing a universal design educational intervention following a major insurance claim.

“With six percent of the 130,000,000 homes in the United States filing an insurance claim every year, this is an opportunity to make home modifications following a major insurance claim. Because the home is already damaged, it might be easier to modify the existing environment,” Beck said. “This is important, because 96% of older adults want to remain in their homes and communities, and this is a great way to help them do it.”

Levine presented research studying whether long-lived smokers represented a biologically resilient phenotype.

“Using two nationally representative populations I showed that long-lived smokers did not have an increased mortality risk from smoking but instead had similar lung function, inflammatory, and immune activation levels to individuals who had never smoked,” Levine said. “I could use lung function and inflammation to quantify ‘resiliency’ and predict who might become a long-lived smoker when looking at a younger population.”

Beck will receive a $1,500 fellowship. He hopes to extrapolate this research into a larger population while also continuing his study of fall prevention. Levine will receive a $500 fellowship and plans to further explore genetic factors among long-lived smokers in the hope that her work will benefit all populations by translating to additional environmental hazards such as pollution.

Both students gave credit to faculty advisors and colleagues, with Beck thanking Jon Pynoos, Susan Enguídanos, Greg Misiaszek, Emily Nabors, Anna Nguyen and Dana Kumabe while Levine thanked Eileen Crimmins, Caleb Finch, Jennifer Ailshire, Tara Gruenewald and Edward Schneider.

“The research presented during the STEM session was tremendously impressive, so I am thrilled to have done so well and to know that scientists outside of my field found my research important and exciting,” Levine said. “Furthermore, as a woman, I am extremely proud given that, unfortunately, women are underrepresented in STEM fields.”

“This was an amazing opportunity to present our findings and to increase the knowledge and visibility of our field,” Beck said. “Even though Gerontology may be a small School at USC, we are making a huge impact that is changing the world.”

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