Students

I’m graduating this year with a master of science degree in gerontology from the USC Leonard Davis School. As I reflect on my time in the department, I am filled with gratitude for the professors who positively influenced my collegiate experience and extended their support in academic mentorship and collaboration.

At the end of last year, I had an opportunity to nominate Dr. Jon Pynoos for induction into the USC Golden Key Chapter. I knew he would be an excellent candidate for this international honor society, which is dedicated to personal, professional and altruistic achievement.

Dr. Pynoos was my first professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. His “Policy, Values and Power in an Aging Society” class laid the foundation for my interdisciplinary and intergenerational coursework and inquisitive investigation of the field. I will never forget how formative our class discussions were, as we explored landmark legislation like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as well as the social contracts between generations.

Dr. Pynoos always encouraged us to think for ourselves and to critically analyze existing aging frameworks while imagining novel and innovative ones. I remain grateful for his wisdom and kindness, and I credit him with helping launch me on a successful USC academic career.

I was thrilled when he was chosen as a Golden Key Honorary member, and proud to help celebrate him and his world-changing work at the New Member Recognition ceremony. Dr. Pynoos’s dedication to thoughtful evidence-based research, visionary leadership and compassionate mentoring has inspired countless students. It was meaningful to see him rewarded and recognized.

As I graduate from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology this May 2013, I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead of me. I hope to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Pynoos by emulating his kindness, generosity and sincerity. I want to inspire others as he has inspired and empowered me, and to make a positive difference in the world and our interdisciplinary field.

Because of his exemplary mentorship, dedication, and passion for autonomy and quality of life, I believe my fellow graduates and I can cultivate a culturally sensitive, personalized and collaborative model of care and support for the future. I am humbled to continue my academic and professional journey and carry with me the eloquent, rigorous and supportive direction of Dr. Pynoos.

Thank you, Dr. Pynoos, and all of the USC Leonard Davis School. Fight On!

Helping seniors harness the social media revolution for their increased health and happiness is a major component in USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology dean Pinchas Cohen’s plans for the future of the institution.

Dubbing this phenomenon “Digital Aging,” he held a competition for USC Leonard Davis School students and staff to help design the best possible aging-friendly mobile app. Awarding winners an iPad and runners-up iPods and iPhones, Cohen announced the results at the School’s annual holiday party.

With a slew of exciting proposals that included medication reminders, home and environment modification safety alerts, end-of-life care assistance and memoir-creation technology, honorable mentions went to doctoral students Jeff Laguna and Patrick Beck, staffer Jana Peretti and undergrads Carin Wong and Cameron Chalfant.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in innovative approaches to helping the aging population,” Beck said.

Second runner-up was doctoral student Alison Balbag, who suggested an app called “MyTunes” that would provide musical therapy for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. First runner-up was undergrad Sahar Edalati, who proposed an app to help older adults locate any lost item, from pill bottles to keys, using GPS technology.

Dean Cohen with App Competition Winner Marguerite DeLiema.

The winners were doctoral student Marguerite DeLiema and grad student Allison Young, who teamed up to propose an app to aid first responders to elder abuse, as well the older adult impacted by it.

“We’re hoping this tool can be used to help guide whether or not the case meets criteria for elder abuse and help first responders identify the nearest agencies to connect older adults for assistance and support,” DeLiema said. “We want to help a vulnerable person become more embedded in their community as well as to help people become more knowledgeable about detecting elder abuse and what to do.”

This concept sparked so much interest from USC Leonard Davis School faculty members that DeLiema and Young are hoping to expand the idea to include a cognitive screening for older adults who may seem to be self-sufficient but may actually be vulnerable to certain frauds and scams.

“In the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration for which our School is famous, I plan on bringing in USC’s computer science, art, design and engineering experts to help make these apps a reality,” Cohen said. “Social media and cutting-edge technology offers older adults such amazing opportunities and assets, and I am so proud of the creative, ingenious solutions our students suggested.”

The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology took center stage at the 65th annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), held this year in San Diego.

As always, the field’s preeminent conference provided multiple opportunities for USC Leonard Davis students, faculty and alumni to shine, as well as for the School’s popular reception to anchor the social and networking side of the event.

“I was so proud to see USC represented so strongly all over GSA,” said Emily Nabors, program coordinator and evaluator for the School’s Fall Prevention Center of Excellence. “It’s so inspiring to see the breadth and depth of the work done at USC while also gaining new insight into what our colleagues around the world are doing.”

Under the umbrella of GSA’s 2012 theme, “Charting New Frontiers in Aging,” USC Leonard Davis School faculty covered a variety of topics, including Tuck Finch on Alzheimer’s disease, Elizabeth Zelinski on gerontechnology, Bob Knight on psychological assessment and interventions, Kate Wilber on elder abuse prevention and Tara Gruenewald on the intersection of socioeconomic and physical health. USC Leonard Davis doctoral students were also well represented among the experts, including Joohong Min on Korean Baby Boomers, Shoshana Hindin on aging’s effect on language acquisition, Shieva Davarian on the health of older Japanese adults and Alison Balbag on music as preventative dementia therapy.

Trojans had much to celebrate, and attendees to the USC Leonard Davis School reception offered a champagne toast to the School’s Eileen Crimmins, who was not only inducted into the Institute of Medicine but also won GSA’s 2012 Robert W. Kleemeier Award for her outstanding research. Another reason to celebrate was the fact that the School is on the cusp of its twentieth anniversary bestowing PhDs in gerontology, with the world’s first going to Valentina Villa in 1993.

“It was really wonderful to see such ‘old’ friends and to meet graduates of later cohorts,” said Sandy Reynolds of the University of South Florida. “As a USC Leonard Davis School PhD alum, what a joy to be able to celebrate the ongoing success of our PhD program in a year where we also celebrate Eileen Crimmins, since she has had such an important role in the success of the program.”

Along with the aforementioned “old” friends, Trojans were equally enthusiastic to welcome and rally behind newer friends, especially Pinchas Cohen, who was delighted to attend his first GSA as dean of the USC Leonard Davis School.

“It is a great honor to be among such world-class colleagues and friends who share our dream of a better quality of life for every aging person,” Cohen said. “I am proud of all of our extremely talented Trojans, near and far, who work every day to bring this dream one step closer to reality.”

Click here for a complete list of all programs, presentations and posters.

Faculty and staff gathered together to welcome students, returning and brand-new, to the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology on Thursday, August 23.

“I’m just as new as many of you freshmen—I’ve only been here six weeks. Our School is already fantastic, but I want to make it the greatest school ever,” said dean Pinchas Cohen, MD “I wish everyone good luck and a great beginning.”

Briefly discussing their research and classes taught, members of the faculty offered their own encouragement as well to the students.

“I want to teach you all how to advocate for your parents and grandparents after a hospitalization,” said John Walsh, PhD “The USC Leonard Davis School is a great launching pad for your next step, whatever it may be. We are all your advisors—we’ve all been there.”

“I work to address issues facing vulnerable elders who need support of some kind: social services, health care, wellness initiatives, economic security,” said Kathleen Wilber, PhD “ I study all the things we need to serve the aging society we have and how those get integrated to serve an individual holistically. I look forward to getting the chance to work with you.”

“It’s amazing for me to think I graduated from the first class offering the Master of Science in Gerontology in 1977, so in 1976 I was sitting out there in the audience just like you guys are today,” said Cheryl Svensson, PhD “Along with James Birren, PhD, I teach Psychological Development through Autobiography, which helps you find out who you are in the sense of where you’ve been and where you’re going by looking inside.”

After the faculty’s introductions, representatives from the Student Gerontology Association (SGA) and the School’s newest student organization, Gerontology, Allies and You (GAY) spoke.

USC Leonard Davis School Students Elena Gonzalez, Patrick Beck, and Morgan Levine

“Our goal is to explore issues unique to LGBT aging and to help raise awareness,” said GAY founder and grad student Brian Gilad Wilson. “We welcome LGBT members as well as our straight allies. I’d especially like to thank Associate Dean Maria Henke for helping us get started. Maria rocks!”

The program closed with Aaron Hagedorn, PhD, discussing several potential internship opportunities before all the students introduced themselves and spoke briefly about their interests.

Coming from Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Minnesota and California as well as from Jamaica, China, Japan and Thailand, the new students were united in their desire to help improve the quality of life for all the world’s older adults, and their enthusiasm to start the school year.

“Ever since I started working as a receptionist in an assisted living facility, I knew I wanted to make a difference for older adults,” said Sam Moghaddamfar, an incoming grad student. “I chose the USC Leonard Davis School because it’s the oldest and best school of gerontology in the world, and I’m so excited to begin.”