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Oct 29

From The Netherlands to Los Angeles

By Featured

From Oct. 8-12, 2012, the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology welcomed delegates from The School of Applied Gerontology at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle, the Netherlands.

For one week, Hugo van den Beld, M.A., professor Carolien Smits, PhD and Annelies Harps-Timmerman, MSc, RN met with the School’s faculty, staff and students; toured Southern California senior services and explored opportunities for collaboration between the institutions.

“We wanted to help advance the situation of older adults in both countries, to enhance the profile and visibility of the two schools and to create new opportunities for education, research and community projects,” said van den Beld, a USC Leonard Davis alum.

Smits, too, had a very personal connection with the School: founding USC Leonard Davis dean James Birren, widely acknowledged as the father of the field, had visited her grad school class 30 years ago in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

“We had been told about his insights and the pioneering work of the Davis School, and his lecture impressed us a lot. What’s more, we were invited to join him for lunch. This was quite unexpected to us as modest students,” she said. “Jim Birren was sincerely interested in what students thought about gerontological matters. This taught me that no matter what age you are and how prestigious your work, you can always learn from and with students. I still try to practice this, thirty years onwards.”

Continuing this international collaboration was of utmost importance to the team, who faced challenges in their own country with many people unsure as to what gerontology even is.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for us to learn from a university where they have many years of experiences in the field we’re teaching,” Harps-Timmerman said. “Besides that, we were eager to explore options for Dutch students and lecturers to go abroad and learn from other cultures and countries. It’s a very powerful way to learn.”

 

As part of their visit, the trio also presented a special lecture, “Going Dutch: Aging in The Netherlands,” exploring innovations in senior housing, long term care and community services as well as holding a special workshop with members of the USC Leonard Davis School’s Fall Prevention Center of Excellence.

Building on the success of their visit, the team plans to expand their connection to the USC Leonard Davis School by looking into creating joint research and exchange programs and offering non-degree training opportunities.

“The response from our students and faculty to our Dutch visitors has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are excited to continue to explore the wonderful opportunities they have presented,” said Pinchas Cohen, MD, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School. “Gerontology is a truly global field of study and we are eager to promote the increased quality of life for older adults in every country.”

“Both of our Schools have a lot in common and this is a great beginning to a beautiful partnership,” van den Beld said. “We would like to thank everyone at the Davis School who has helped make this visit such a great one. We hope to see them again very soon, either in LA or in the Netherlands!”

Oct 16

Crimmins Elected to the Institute of Medicine

By Featured

Eileen Crimmins, PhD, AARP Chair of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, capped off an impressive year with her election to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the world’s most prestigious honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Building on her momentum, which included being named the winner of the Gerontological Society of America’s Robert W. Kleemeier Award, Crimmins was recognized for her academic and professional excellence as one of the globe’s top biodemographers.

“We are enormously proud of Eileen’s well-deserved honor, which is a testament to her brilliance and unparalleled reputation,” said Pinchas Cohen, MD “Her awe-inspiring career has pushed forward the boundaries of science and human knowledge by leaps and bounds.”

“As an international leader in the demography of human aging, Dr. Crimmins is one of USC’s most distinguished multidisciplinary scientists,” said her colleague, Caleb Finch, PhD “She is fearless in tackling new technologies and is not just one of the pioneers of her field, but one of its most impressive visionaries and leaders.”

An expert on health, mortality and life expectancy, Crimmins is also the director of the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health, director of the Multidisciplinary Training in Gerontology Program and a co-investigator of the Health and Retirement Study in the U.S.

“I am honored by this election,”Crimmins said. “It would not have been possible if I had not spent most of my career in the exciting multidisciplinary atmosphere at the Davis School of Gerontology at USC, a university that showed vision in providing this academic setting.”

The IOM is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which was originally chartered under then-president Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Membership reflects the pinnacle of professional achievement and commitment to service for those chosen.

Oct 05

In Memoriam: David A. Peterson, PhD

By Featured

After a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology professor emeritus David A. Peterson died on Thursday, October 4, 2012.

Peterson was an expert on lifelong learning who served as director of the USC Leonard Davis School from 1978 to 2003. He was appointed the first holder of the Edward and Rita Polusky Chair in Education and Aging in 1999 and, in 2007, saw the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education create an award in his name.

“He was an early leader in the field of gerontology,” said James Birren, founding dean of the USC Leonard Davis School and widely considered the father of gerontology. “His background was in education, but he soon embraced more aspects of human life and aging.”

Peterson also served as associate dean of the USC Leonard Davis School from 1985 to 2003. He was responsible for the school’s instructional programs, including the development of the bachelor of science, master of science and the PhD degrees in gerontology as well as dual-degree programs with 10 other USC schools and departments.

“Our son was with me when David died. It has been a long difficult passage for David and for those who love him, but now he is at rest,” said his wife Ellen Peterson in email. “I do thank you for your appreciation of David as your colleague and friend. Thank you for your support of me as well.”

A date has not yet been set for the memorial service, but according to faculty, staff and students of the USC Leonard Davis School, Peterson and his accomplishments will never be forgotten.

“I speak for everyone associated with the USC Leonard Davis School when I say what an amazing mind and spirit David A. Peterson had, and what an enormous impact he had on the field,” said dean Pinchas Cohen, MD “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye, but we are proud to honor his exceptional life and legacy.”

UPDATE: Memorial Service: Saturday, October 27, 11:00 A.M., First United Methodist Church Chapel, 500 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, 91101. There will be a reception following.

Memorials can be given in the form of contributions to the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology: David A. Peterson Scholarship OR David A. Peterson Fellowship. (USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, 3715 McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089)

Oct 05

Starvation-Induced Cellular Defense Mechanisms Shed Light on Lifespan Research

By Featured, Lifespan Health, Mitochondria

New research by a team at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology into how organisms respond to lack of nutrition could have a far-reaching impact on how we understand obesity and longevity and potentially fight chemotherapy-resistant cancer.

Published in Cell Metabolism, the paper details a discovery made in the lab of Sean Curran, assistant professor of biogerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Curran’s lab looked at how proteins in our bodies respond to starvation, in particular a protein known as SKN-1 that binds to DNA and affects how the starvation response is mediated. (Nrf is the mammalian equivalent of SKN-1.)

The Curran lab’s finding that, in the presence of a starvation environment, cells initiate and regulate complex metabolic changes, sheds fascinating new light into the study of existing cellular mechanisms as well as opening the door for exciting intracellular bioengineering possibilities.

Curran and his team also found that although a mitochondrial pool of SKN-1 has never previously been identified, it is indeed present, most likely in the outer membrane of the mitochondria — they term this discovery mito-SKN-1.

“The regulation of lifespan is complex. SKN-1/Nrf were discovered decades ago, but this work uncovers a novel role for this well established player,” Curran said. “This discovery changes how we think about how transcription factors are regulated.”

Using a roundworm known as C. elegans, Curran and his lab studied how complex organisms responded on a cellular level to being starved.

They focused on the interaction of proteins PGAM-5 and MXL-3 with mitochondrial pools of SKN-1. Although most starved C. elegans were able to recover and achieve fertile adulthood when reintroduced to food, specially mutated worms were unable to turn off the body’s starvation response even in nutrient-rich environments – highlighting key molecular and physiological genetic differences of special interest to scientists.

“This starvation response has a huge impact on nutrient pathways that regulate lifespan and survival,” Curran said. “Although the amount of SKN-1 did not seem to make a difference, it’s the activated form of SKN-1 that matters.”

His team also found a correlation to the SKN-1 effects in mice when their activated Nrf similarly induced a starvation response. The team’s discovery has enormous potential repercussions when extrapolated to Nrf-positive tumors, which tend to be resistant to chemotherapy.

“By exploiting this starvation response, we might be able to think of new treatments,” Curran said.

This publication represents both a scientific and personal milestone for Curran, who holds joint appointments at the USC Leonard Davis School and in molecular and computational biology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences as well as in biochemistry and molecular biology at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.

“Combining genetic, cell and molecular biology, and biochemistry approaches, this the first major publication from the Curran lab,” he said. “I am really proud of it.”

Co-authors of this study were Jennifer Paek and Tammy N. Nguyen (USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology); Jacqueline Y. Lo (Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science); Sri Devi Narasimhan, Kira Glover-Cutter, Stacey Robida-Stubbs and T. Keith Blackwell (Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Harvard Medical School); and Takafumi Suzuki (Tohoku University School of Medicine, Japan).

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grants number R01GM6289 and R00AG032308) and the Ellison Medical Foundation.

Sep 27

Standing Together to Prevent Falls

By Featured

“United we stand, divided we fall” isn’t just a patriotic slogan – it’s also the rallying cry of Californians who joined forces with USC’s Fall Prevention Center of Excellence to celebrate the fifth annual Fall Prevention Awareness Week.

Standing united the first week of autumn (September 22-28, 2012), California’s fall prevention coalitions, health care providers, and senior service agencies held presentations, health fairs, screenings and workshops to raise awareness about the seriousness of falls and ways to reduce fall risk.

It’s always a good time to prevent falls, however, and USC’s Fall Prevention Center of Excellence has many resources and tips to help.

  • View The Falling Monologues, a series of humorous and educational performances about common fall risks and ways to reduce them, written and directed by Marilyn Faber and performed by older actors.

For older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths, unintentional injuries, and hospital admissions for trauma. Most falls among older adults happen in and around the home, but there are some simple and inexpensive ways to eliminate hazards:

  •  Remove throw rugs: Throw rugs are a common trip hazard and should be removed. If you can move a rug with your foot, you could trip over it, too. Secure all rugs to the floor with rug grippers, which can be found at a home improvement store.
  •  Keep pathways clear: Make sure there are clear walking pathways by picking up clutter and relocating to storage areas, coiling up and securing electric cords to the floor or wall and rearranging furniture if necessary.
  • Light the way: Make sure all rooms, hallways and stairways are well lit. Put a lamp in an easy-to-reach place by the bed and use nightlights to illuminate the path between your bedroom and bathroom. Be aware of uneven surfaces such as thresholds in doorways or when there are changes in flooring such as between carpeting and linoleum.
Sep 21

An Award-Winning Advocate and Ally

By Featured, Student Profile

Helping older adults has been USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology graduate student Brenda M. Vázquez’s day job for almost a decade, but she prides herself on continuing to search for new avenues and opportunities to serve.

In the past two years alone, she co-produced On the Move, a reality television show aimed at helping older Angelenos become physically active. She served as an advisor to the California State Libraries Association to create a health education toolkit for librarians to more efficiently serve the public. Vázquez also designed a pilot e-health promotion program, the Exergamers Wellness Club, to engage older adults in “playful” physical activity and self-care using technology, which won the top 2012 innovation award from the National Association of Senior Centers.

As the director of disease prevention and health promotion programs at Partners in Care Foundation, she has led numerous projects to enhance the health status and quality of life for older adults in Los Angeles, including the first implementation of evidence-based health promotion programs in Los Angeles senior centers. In light of her accomplishments and professional potential, Vázquez recently received a career development grant from the American Association of University Women, a national network dedicated to advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.

“The AAUW award means a great deal to me as I prepare to take on formal research moving forward in my career,” she said. “Over the years, working with some of the most talented and committed professionals, we have conceptualized and implemented a variety of well received health innovation programs. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done in developing culturally appealing programs that engage and retain older participants.”

Vázquez joined Partners in Care in 2003 with the charge to start up a citywide health promotion program—the Wellness Club—under contract to the City of Los Angeles Department of Aging.

The program provides preventative clinical screenings, functional fitness assessments and evidence based health promotion programs to 16 senior centers and numerous community-based sites. The Wellness Club benefits from the guidance of a distinguished group of professionals in geriatrics and gerontology, including such experts as, Mary Cadogan, DrPH, from UCLA’s School of Nursing, Alison Moore, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine, and Dennee Frey, PharmD, a USC-affiliated pharmacist. Now in its tenth year, the program has grown to serve more than 6,000 elder residents annually across diverse neighborhoods, including demonstrated success reaching the city’s Spanish- and Chinese-speaking elders as well as the aging African-American community.

“Cultural sensitivity and adaptive capacity are at the heart of the program’s success,” she said. “We tailor outreach and engagement to variables such as health status, location, language, literacy, values, culture, consumer interests and functional abilities.”

Her most recent innovation with the Wellness Club is a new program that pairs the video game system Kinect for Xbox 360 with evidence-based health education in order to help older adults “play” their way to increased physical activity and social engagement. Inspired by the program’s success, Vázquez will partner with the USC Leonard Davis School’s Kate Wilber, PhD, to conduct further directed research.

Another area Vázquez has been involved in is workforce development and training. As part of this initiative, her team took on a major role in coordinating the Geriatric Social Work Education Consortium (GSWEC), co-founded by Partners in Care Foundation’s CEO, June Simmons.

GSWEC is a unique model of collaboration between schools and agencies and allowed them to begin an internship program whose first intern was—Vázquez noted proudly—a USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology grad student.

“A field placement at Partners in Care or any of the other excellent agencies within GSWEC offers unique hands-on experiences for students planning to go into a range of leadership and professional roles in health and human services,” Vázquez said. “We are committed to educating the geriatric health, human services, social workers and gerontologists of the future.”

As she helps train the next generation of gerontologists and geriatric social workers while pushing herself and her colleagues to continually innovate on behalf of older Angelenos, Vázquez is also continuing her own academic and professional growth.

“I hope to bring my work to publication during my tenure at USC,” she said. “I am grateful and excited to collaborate with the many wonderfully talented and supportive professionals I’ve had the privilege to work with over the years at Partners in Care as well as here at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.”