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To tackle the rising prevalence of age-related diseases and the challenges and opportunities presented by a growing elderly population, the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging today announced a joint PhD program in the Biology of Aging, the first in the nation. The interdisciplinary doctoral program will draw on the two institutions’ long-established leadership and expertise in understanding the connection between aging and chronic disease through biomedical research..

Trojan Family Weekend marked the launch of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s new Creativity and Aging Initiative.  Engaging USC faculty, staff, students, and community members, the Creativity and Aging Initiative will host events to celebrate and explore the achievements of older artists, musicians, writers, actors, and dancers, as well as link to research and academics.

The opening event, The Ageless Artist: Art Fair and Exhibit, filled the Leonard Davis courtyard and lobby with work from 10 seasoned artists ranging from quilts, jewelry, furniture, prints, paintings, and fabric arts.

“I am delighted that we are able to showcase the creativity of artists of all ages,” said Leonard Davis School dean, Pinchas Cohen.  “In gerontology, we examine the concepts of lifespan and healthspan, and through this initiative, we will explore our creativity span.”

Highlighting the notion that artists are not restricted by age, and in turn often enriched by it, The Ageless Artist also included the inaugural exhibit of the Sophie Davis Art Gallery, established by a generous donation from Alan Davis, son of the School’s namesake.  The first of many rotating exhibits, it includes the expressive and thought-provoking work of Mary Lou Dauray and Orna Makleff.

The event concluded with the presentation, Creativity and Aging: Unlocking the Artist Within at Any Age.  It included a discussion by USC Leonard Davis Assistant Professor Tara Gruenewald on the importance to older adults of generativity – or their ability to make positive contributions to their communities. Dauray and Makleff shared words of wisdom to encourage Trojan parents, grandparents, and students that it is never too late to explore their creative side.  Highlighting how easy it is to dive into art making, USC Architecture professor, artist, and furniture designer Miller Fong demonstrated an app for iPhones and iPads. Called Artrage, the app can help unleash the inner artist in all of us – allowing users to draw and paint with their finger or stylus.  Writer and artist Dr. Francine Toder ended the presentation with inspiring recommendations from her book, The Vintage Years – Finding Your Inner Artist.

In the New Year, the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s Creativity and Aging Initiative will sponsor additional events and develop new endeavors in its research and academics. The Sophie Davis Art Gallery is open to the public during the School’s operating hours.

Susan Enguídanos, MPH, PhD, assistant professor in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, evaluates a program that wants to change and improve the referral process. With the eConsult study, she and her research colleagues – Alex Li, MD, Sajid Ahmed, and Sandy Atkins – looked at three specialist referrals in their study population: dermatology, nephrology, and endocrinology.

Professor Kelvin Davies of the Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, published- along with Andrew Pickering, Alison Koop, Cheryl Teoh, Gennady Ermak, and Tilman Grune- a paper  in the BJ Cell Knowledge Environment which proved to be the best-cited paper in this category of articles contributing to the Biochemical Journal’s latest Impact Factor of 4.654. (Continue Reading…)

AP News interviews the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s Elizabeth Zelinski on a new brain-training video game.

In a preliminary study, healthy volunteers ages 60 to 85 showed gains in their ability to multitask, to stay focused on a boring activity and to keep information in mind — the kind of memory you use to remember a phone number long enough to write it down. All those powers normally decline with age, Dr. Adam Gazzaley of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues noted in a study released Wednesday by the journal Nature.

The October 2013 issue of Scientific American profiles the longevity research of the USC Leonard Davis School’s Caleb “Tuck” Finch.

Minorities with life-ending diseases are less likely to enter hospice care than whites, but palliative care consultation may be an effective strategy to address this ethnic disparity, new research by Susan Enguídanos of the USC Leonard Davis School suggested.