The Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health hosted the 16th Annual Friedman Lecture & Awards on April 28. This year’s event explored the benefits of arts and creative expression for health and wellbeing. The event included a keynote by Linda Noelker, PhD, who reviewed the current evidence for the connection between art and health and highlight programs taking place throughout the country. Dr. Noelker was joined by three panelists who connect adults with various visual and performing arts in the St. Louis Metro Region: Suzanne Doyle, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Gerontology Program, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Sheila Suderwalla, Executive Director, Artists First; and Allison Taylor, Head of Education and Community Engagement, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
Event photo album >>
Keynote slides >>
Event video >>
This year’s lecture was the first event of a ten-day festival, Celebrating Arts for Senior Engagement organized by the nonprofit Maturity and Its Muse. The festival was created by Executive Director Lynn Friedman Hamilton to highlight the diversity of opportunities to engage in the arts, particularly for older adults, throughout the region.
2016 Awards
In addition to the lecture and panel discussion, the Friedman Center for Aging recognized two individuals for their service to older adults in St. Louis.
The 2016 Alene and Meyer Kopolow Award for Geriatrics, Psychiatry, and Neurology was presented to Scott Vouri. The 2016 Harvey A. & Dorismae Hacker Friedman Award for Excellence in Service to Older Adults was awarded to Virginia Buckles. Awards are supported with funds from the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. For over 10 years, the Friedman Center for Aging has presented these awards on an annual basis. Awardees are selected based on nominations submitted to the Friedman Center; in addition to public recognition, awardees receive a small monetary award to support their work. Past awardees
2016 Kopolow Award Winner: Scott Vouri
The Alene & Meyer Kopolow award recognizes stellar contributions to the care of older adults by a resident, post-residency fellow, or junior faculty member in neurology, psychiatry, medicine, or related disciplines through direct patient care, education, or research.
Dr. Vouri is an assistant professor at St. Louis College of Pharmacy and clinical pharmacist at the Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine – Older Adult Assessment Clinic. Dr. Vouri is currently on a KL2 Career Development Grant funded through Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to study drug-induced adverse events and prescribing cascades in older adults prescribed antimuscarinics. He was nominated by Dr. Susy Stark and Emily Sommerville in Washington University’s Program in Occupational Therapy for his contributions to direct patient care and research related to geriatric pharmacology.
2016 Friedman Award Winner: Virginia Buckles
The award recognizes individuals in the St. Louis Metro region who make outstanding contributions in service to older adults. Individuals may make this contribution through practice, education, advocacy, or research.
Dr. Buckles is a Professor of Neurology and Executive Director of the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at Washington University. Her research has focused on driving and dementia, ethical issues regarding informed consent for research in cognitively impaired populations, early clinical detection of Alzheimer’s disease, the neuropathology of nondemented aging, and antecedent biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. As Executive Director for the last 17 years, she has been responsible for the administration and conduct of the ADRC, two program project grants and the international, multi-site collaborative study of dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease: “Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network” or DIAN. She serves on the Human Research Protection Office Full Board for Washington University. She also contributed to the planning, initiation and development of the Friedman Center for Aging in its early stages. She was nominated by her colleagues at the ADRC, including Drs. Krista Moulder and David Holtzman, for her significant contributions and dedication in research and advocacy for many of the most sensitive topics affecting older adults.