Regardless of their major, concentration or subsequent career, students at Washington University in St. Louis will experience age-related issues in both their personal and professional lives. Issues in aging span every academic discipline. Policies, products, and services still often focus on 20th century needs, when life expectancy was much lower.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25% of the population will be age 65 in the next 20 years, or more specifically, the oldest population among us is experiencing the fastest growth. New academic and community approaches will need to reflect the growing diversity in the health and general needs and interests of older adults. This will present a myriad of opportunities and challenges.

To help prepare students for population aging, the Friedman Center is offering course enhancement awards to support the incorporation of aging-relevant topics into new and existing courses at Washington University. Instructor proposals chosen for this program will receive a $250 award that can be used for course materials, guest speakers, field trip expenses, or other resources needed to support the incorporation of aging-relevant material into your course. Consultation from the Friedman Center is also available to help you develop lectures, activities, and assignments, as well as connect to community resources.
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Contact centerforaging@wustl.edu to learn more.
View a list of available resources that can be incorporated into curriculum.
The Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program is open to students who seek challenge, research and experience along with the opportunity to explore and grow academically in a diverse environment.
The eight-week Summer Research Program enables students from any university to develop expertise in the Aging and Neurological Diseases Track.

Aging-related Publications
View the latest publications from our center’s team.
- CONCLUSION: Persons with neurologic illnesses and their caregivers use different question types to obtain information about symptoms and treatment during initial palliative care appointments. Results […]
- OBJECTIVES: Several U.S. health surveillance surveys contain items related to self and proxy reports of dementia and subjective memory complaints (SMC). Despite their similar content, […]
- Trainees may be interested in careers in aging but unfamiliar with career options, leading to a shortage in the geriatric workforce. In response to needs […]
- This study examined the moderating mechanisms of generative concerns (perception of making contributions to others) between generative civic activities and mental health among middle-aged and […]
- We argue that gerontologists are products of our ageist culture and that we both perpetuate ageism and suffer from internalized ageism ourselves. We make ageist […]
- Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is the most common type of knee joint injury and also a risk factor for multiple health consequences and is prevalent among […]
- CONCLUSION: The activity domain measures demonstrated efficiency in identifying participation rates and change. CBOs may deem them useful for assessing support and service needs to […]
- Barriers to learning after a stroke may prevent stroke survivors from acquiring helpful information regarding stroke prevention and preparedness. The objective of this study was […]
- No abstract