Bob Knight, PhD

USC is home to a vast array of aging-related research, as evidenced by the impressive speakers and scope of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s third annual interdisciplinary symposium, “What’s Hot in Aging Research at USC.”

As experts from across campus, including from the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Social Work, united at the Davis School of Gerontology’s auditorium on April 10, attendees were treated to a full day of panels, poster sessions and presentations.

“Complex human problems require complex study,” said Gerald C. Davison, PhD, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “The way we change over time and especially into old age represents great intellectual and social challenges, which require great interdisciplinary responses and solutions.”

“Basically, the intention of today is to show people the connection between basic science, its constituent disciplines and its practice,” said Bob Knight, PhD, associate dean of the USC Leonard Davis School. “In different ways, all the speakers today are involved in both research as well as real-world interventions for older adults.”

Subtitled “From Science to Service,” the conference followed the arc of “bench science to bedside,” beginning with current geriatric medical research.

The first two speakers, Ihab Hajjar, MD, Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Kathleen Rodgers, PhD, USC School of Pharmacy, discussed aging complications due to hypertension and diabetes, respectively, as well as their grounding scientific causes and potential cures.

The morning finished with Roseann Mulligan, DDS, Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC and Knight transitioning from the research element to more functional applications.

Showing a picture of her 90-year-old mother-in-law as an example of healthy aging, Mulligan described the importance of oral health on older adults’ quality of life, examining how it impacts nutrition, communication, intimacy and self-esteem. Knight traced the complex interplay of emotion, cognition and aging as well as explaining several studies that reflected changing professional attitudes towards older adults, depression and treatment.

After lunch, the conference concluded with two panel discussions. The first brought together the members of USC’s interdisciplinary Geriatric Assessment Program (GAP): Knight; Patricia Harris, MD, Keck School of Medicine of USC; Bradley Williams, PharmD, USC School of Pharmacy; Piedad Suarez, DDS, Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC; and Anne Katz, PhD, LCSW, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. The groundbreaking clinic, a free service that streamlines multiple medical visits into a one-stop-shop for older adults, inspired a flurry of spirited questions from the audience, many of whom were in the field themselves.

L to R: Anne Katz, PhD, LCSW, Patricia Harris, MD, Bradley Williams, PharmD, Piedad Suarez, DDS, and Bob Knight, PhD

“Since I only see patients who are 65 or older, I wanted to get some feedback on how to care for them better,” said Sharon Jafari, a geriatric nurse practitioner with Kaiser Permanente. “I came on behalf of my team to bring back the information, and I absolutely loved today’s program.”

The final panel of the day, made up exclusively of Davis School faculty, examined health care systems issues in geriatric health care. Beginning with a discussion of fall prevention from Jon Pynoos, PhD, the panel went on to feature Edward Schneider, MD on polypharmacy, Kathleen Wilber, PhD, on older adults transitioning out of—and, unfortunately, back into—nursing facilities and Susan Enguídanos, PhD, on end-of-life care.

As with its previous two installments, the third annual “What’s Hot in Aging Research at USC” showcased some of the most exciting gerontological developments at the university, as well as helping spark a desire in attendees to continue to bridge the gap between science and service.

“Translating research to practice especially interests me,” said George Caballero, a member of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging Advisory Board. “It was important for me to come to keep abreast of the latest research on working with older adults.”

“The dedication of the speakers is always obvious, and the program is always put together in such a classy manner,” said Susan Rose, USC’s Executive Director of the Office for the Protection of Research Subjects. “Every year I come, there’s always at least one speaker who captures something new and vital that concerns all of us, no matter our age. I always leave inspired and in awe of the work being done here at USC.”

Mentors mold us every day, but all too often their world-changing contributions go unnoticed.

Happily, that’s not the case for the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology’s Susan Enguídanos, PhD, and Sean Curran, PhD, who won 2012 USC Mellon Mentoring Awards.

Enguídanos was recognized for her work mentoring graduate students, with many alums submitting letters on her behalf as well.

“She is a caring and compassionate person who incorporates the importance of balancing all of life’s facets into her mentoring,” said doctoral student and nominator Alexis Coulourides Kogan. “I am appreciative every day because I get to work with such an exceptional teacher, mentor, supporter and friend.”

Curran was recognized for his work mentoring undergrad students, earning a slew of letters from the undergrad members of USC’s first-ever iGEM team, which he helped create.

“Dr. Curran embodies the very best spirit of mentorship in the field of scientific research, in which he graciously and enthusiastically shares his knowledge,” said USC alum and nominator Percy Genyk. “Better yet, he does so in a manner that leaves room for discovery by the beneficiary.”

As proud as the assistant professors were of their awards, they found the nominations themselves to be equally meaningful.

“The award is really the icing on the cake since mentoring is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” Curran said. “The development of students into scientists is wonderful transition to watch. Assisting in this process through mentorship has been my privilege.”

“I am fortunate to work with such motivated, intelligent and exceptional students who will contribute significantly to advancing research and practice in gerontology,” said Enguídanos. “To receive a nomination from them is one of the highest honors imaginable. We all learn and grow from the mentoring process.”

Allison Foertsch

Emotions color and control so much of what we do, and why. As we age—biologically, psychologically, socially—our emotional responses change and grow more complicated.

Exploring this vast, ever-shifting backdrop to human behavior is the passion of USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology doctoral student Allison Foertsch, who was recently awarded a 2012 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowship. The GRFP awards $30,000 per a twelve-month Fellowship Year, and is funded for a maximum of three years.

“This is an amazing opportunity that will enable me to focus on research exclusively,” Foertsch said. “I was so pleased to have been admitted to a great research institute like USC, and to work with my mentor, Dr. Mara Mather. The addition of this fellowship is more than I could have ever asked for.”

Foertsch comes from an extensive research background and completed stints in Shirley McGuire’s Family Research Lab at the University of San Francisco (USF), Marisa Knight’s Emotion and Cognition Research Lab at USF, the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and, of course, Mara Mather’s Emotion and Cognition Research Lab at USC.

For her GRFP-funded research, Foertsch proposed a novel across-the-lifespan study testing arousal-biased competition (ABC) theory, developed by Mather and her graduate student, Matthew Sutherland, which seeks to explain how certain stimuli are “chosen” over others to create memories as well as investigating the effect of sleep on consolidation of these memories into long-term storage.

“Understanding why and how emotional arousal sometimes enhances and sometimes impairs memory, and how this changes across the lifespan, has wide application,” she said. “The brain is complicated, and learning about it has been fascinating.”

“Allie is not afraid to tackle new domains and pushes herself to learn new things. She has an infectious enthusiasm that makes her great at leading a research team,” said Mather. “I expect that she will be an influential researcher and educator in her future career.”

In fact, achieving her goals as both a researcher and educator is vitally important to Foertsch, a first-generation college student.

“I believe it is our responsibility as scientists to turn our research into communicable results. I hope to share my research in a way that engages people and motivates them to consider how science can translate into better lives,” Foertsch said. “I am truly honored and humbled to receive such a prestigious award. Many thanks to my mentors, my lab mates and collaborators, and my family.”

Patrick Beck

Southern California students who are interested in helping older adults have a new statewide voice. Patrick Beck, a doctoral student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, was named the Southern California student representative to the Board of Directors of the California Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics (CCGG).

“It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to serve as a representative of the collective interests of the many students who share my passion for this wonderful field,” Beck said. “I greatly look forward to helping move our ever-changing field forward.”

Beck’s ascension to the two-year position is personally meaningful, since his decision to enter the field came about during the 2008 CCGG conference held at his alma mater, California State University, Northridge.

“The passion and talent of students like Patrick Beck bode well for the future of gerontology,” said Maria Henke, president of CCGG and assistant dean of the USC Leonard Davis School. “Seeing such dedicated up-and-coming leaders like Patrick helps inspire us all to redouble our efforts to improve the lives of older adults in California and beyond.”

CCGG is the only statewide association that links academic institutions to legislators, service providers and older adults and their families. Its membership is representative of California’s cross-educational systems, spans a wide array of disciplines and seeks to strengthen the quality of gerontology and geriatrics education as well as increasing advocacy for and access to programs and services.

“Southern California represents the future of the field of aging,” Beck said. “I am very proud to join the Board of CCGG to help do my part in making it a better one.”

USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology dean Gerald C. Davison, PhD and assistant clinical professor Aaron Hagedorn, PhD, were among the international experts chosen to pen a chapter for the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Ageing Society’s newest publication, Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?

Containing 22 essays by authorities whose expertise spans the globe—from the United States to the United Kingdom to the Netherlands and Japan—the book examines the interplay between ageing and multiple facets of the modern world, including urbanization, equity, media portrayal, leadership, economic security and, in Davison and Hagedorn’s chapter, gerontechnology: the interdisciplinary study of the interaction of technology and the unique challenges and needs of older people.

“We discussed how current and emerging innovations in technology and design can improve quality of life and, for older adults, extend the time they can ‘age in place’ rather than be consigned to residential settings for elders,” said Hagedorn.

“Technology can help level the playing field across the generations, enabling higher productivity for mature people who may be able to contribute productively for a longer time,” Davison said. “Aging societies will need to adapt, finding new roles for older people and supporting the sense of self-worth and self-sufficiency that enable them to maximize their physical and mental potential.”

The scope of gerontechnology’s ability to revolutionize the way we age is virtually limitless, and both Hagedorn and Davison see possible applications for every facet of life over time.

“Look at what technology has done to the job market and general communication in just a few years, for example. The timing of technological expansion into the lives of older adults is excellent, since population aging and medical inflation are straining our existing framework for health and social services,” Davison said. “Implementing technological solutions across the board could result in improved quality of life and potentially save an extraordinary amount of money. Gerontechnology is changing the face of what it means to age.”

“I hope this chapter gives insight into the network of scientists behind technology designed for older adults, and a sense of how the field has developed in recent years,” said Hagedorn. “Specific technologies are often out of date before they get fully adopted, but the concepts that are at the heart of the products often live on in a new form. Our chapter gives insight into the major concepts that form the basis for products that can support aging in place.”

The most universal of human experiences, aging has increasingly become a crucial topic of study, policy and practice in terms of the future of our planet. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) believes it to be of such vital importance that they selected aging as the theme of World Health Day 2012.

“I welcome this timely book, which deals with some of the many other perspectives of population ageing,” said Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. “The diverse chapters within it can help us invent the kind of society we might want to be part of in the 21st century.”

The full text of Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise? is available online at the World Economic Forum’s website.

Aaron Hagedorn, PhD & Dean Gerald C. Davison, PhD

Whispers come from the hallway as Margaret Thatcher’s assistants speak about her deteriorating mental condition. As she peeks through a crack in the door, Thatcher eavesdrops and occasionally speaks with her husband, who is eating his breakfast. While she seems to be in fine mental health at first, audiences soon realize that the images of her husband are merely hallucinations.

Maryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady

Starring Meryl Streep in an Oscar-nominated performance, the 2011 film The Iron Lady addresses former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s struggles with Alzheimer’s disease, which complicate her view of reality and send her on a journey through her own memories. Once one of the world’s most powerful political figures, the film’s Thatcher has diminished into a helpless woman who is unable to leave the house on her own without causing alarm-not even for a pint of milk.

“This film is unusual because Margaret Thatcher is still alive, and some people feel that she is being humiliated by being labeled as demented in her later years. To the contrary, though, I think this film has helped people feel more sympathetic to what she accomplished in her life and understand the struggle she has faced in recent years,” said Aaron Hagedorn, PhD, of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “The stories of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan demonstrate to us that anyone can get this disease, and show us how difficult it is to see a highly accomplished life of hard work end in a quiet and disorienting way.”

The Iron Lady is one of the most recent films that address the aging population’s struggle with diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Representing the truly global scope of these diseases, the last decade has seen several such films, includingPoetry (2010, South Korea), Away From Her (2006, Canada), The Notebook(2004),and Iris (2001, UK), depicting the challenges older adults-and the people who love and care for them-encounter while faced with a debilitating mental illness.

“Showing people with dementia in films to some extent perpetuates the stereotype that older people are forgetful or senile, but they also allow audiences to see the human side of the disease, to realize that anyone could be affected, and to discover that life goes on long after the disease is apparent,” Hagedorn said. “With 4.5 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the U.S., many millions more can relate to what it is like, and can relate to demented characters.”

In Poetry, a Korean grandmother, Yang Mija (Yoon Jeong-hee) must raise her grandson and work to support her family while being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As her disease progresses, she enrolls herself in a poetry class that allows her to find her voice even though she is in a mental decline and struggling with the terribly destructive actions of her grandson. Despite the considerable stressors and setbacks she faces, she is able to discover and focus on moments of true beauty.

“While it’s true that keeping one’s mind active is generally associated with reduced risk of showing signs of Alzheimer’s, we don’t really know whether it’s too late to see an effect of brain exercise after the disease is apparent,” Hagedorn said. “This film does, however, give us hope that being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s isn’t an immediate death sentence. We could have 10 or even 15 more years or so of potentially meaningful life left to live, to create and leave a legacy.”

As difficult and frightening as dementia may be for the older adult who receives the diagnosis, it also presents a major impact for his or her family and caregivers. Both Away From Her and Iris deal with husbands attempting to care for their wives whose mental faculties are declining. In Away From Her, Fiona (Julie Christie) experiences a moment of clarity and chooses to check herself into a nursing home, despite the fears of her husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent). Deteriorating quickly, Fiona begins to forget her husband and embarks on a romantic relationship with another, married patient.

Iris is based on the life of British author and philosopher Iris Murdoch (Kate Winslet and Judi Dench) and her relationship with John Bayley (Hugh Bonneville and Jim Broadbent, in an Oscar-winning performance). The frustration, hopelessness and isolation experienced by many caretakers is born out onscreen as John must care for his declining wife, increasingly losing control of her mind and body, as he seeks to reconcile his love and respect for the fiercely independent woman he married whom he is forced to watch slowly disappear.

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in The Notebook

More glossy and romantic than the other, more realistic films, the American-set The Notebook presents a similar story of a loving man, Noah (Ryan Gosling and James Garner), who sees the love of his life, Allie, (Rachel McAdams and Gena Rowlands) struggle with dementia and the loss of her memories. Telling her their love story is the only way Noah can rekindle their connection, before Allie’s brief moment of lucidity disappears.

“These films show how quickly the disease can progress, and how everything may eventually be forgotten, leaving behind people who truly care. This is very hurtful, but we must remember that it is not the demented person’s fault, and there is little anyone can do,” Hagedorn said. “These film tells us not to expect too much out of the demented. If you expect gratification you will likely be disappointed. If you simply live in the moment, just like the person with Alzheimer’s, expecting nothing in return, you can be grateful for life in the present and what you’ve shared together before.”

What unites each of these films is that, even though Alzheimer’s disease and dementia can rob an older adult of their past and personality, they still retain a core of humanity and as such deserve respect, care and dignity. It is devastating for The Iron Lady’s Margaret Thatcher when, at the end of the film, she is able to grasp that her husband is indeed dead, and must confront losing him and the reality of her reduced circumstances. Although her awareness is not a permanent state, in the moment the audience is reminded that, despite her failing health, Thatcher remains a strong, vibrant woman at heart, and for an instant, she feels some freedom from the illness that has trapped her.

“Films like these help us to relate to people with Alzheimer’s as real people who still have their emotional selves, even if they’ve lost their ability to express themselves verbally,” Hagedorn said. “They can show us what it’s like to rise up to a certain level in life, and then find yourself unsure what is real and what is not. They can teach us that there are resources caregivers can turn to, and that no one needs to face this alone. They can remind us that demented people have a very strong perception of emotion, and holding hands can mean the world to someone who has little to live for beyond the present.”

In other words, these films reflect a universal struggle to make sense of a devastating disease that does not discriminate in terms of nationality, gender or race, that continues to challenge caregiver, patient and scientist alike, and it is only through a compassionate focus on our shared humanity that we can-if only for a moment-escape its reach.