Ageism – the unnoticed -ism

Written by Michele Dinman, project coordinator for the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health “She looks so good for her age”…“I was having a senior moment”…“50 is the new 30”…“Old people go there”….“You don’t look 70”… “Millennials have an inflated sense of entitlement” …“She is too young to be […]

Remembering the people behind the disease

In this blogpost written by Sophia Tu, a Summer Research Program student in the Aging & Neurological Diseases Track, studies concerning dementia and Alzheimers are discussed.

Summer Research Program Experience 2.0

This blogpost written by Summer Research Program, Aging & Neurological Diseases Track student, Danielle Friz discusses various presentations on chronic diseases in aging adults.

When I’m 64: What will our future be?

The When I’m 64 course is back for Fall 2021 and helps students break down biases toward older adults and impact students’ vocational paths!

Purpose for life over a lifespan

This blog post by Summer Research Program student Aja Jones assesses the connection between healthy aging and a continuous development of an individual’s purpose for life.

An exciting experience

In this blogpost written by Summer Research Program student, Josie Wright, the COMPASS program and home modifications for stroke patients are discussed.

How Homesharing Provides Benefits During The Pandemic

Content provided by Odd Couples Housing The idea of homesharing has been around for years. Around the country, various formal and informal networks for finding tenants, short-term borders, or roommates have surfaced. Instead of finding roommates through word-of-mouth or college campus flyers, now there are structured options to support homesharing, including a few options in […]

COVID-19 and Compounding Losses

by Barbara L. Finch, MLA, Alumna, Washington University in St. Louis The older adults I know are scared. In the independent living retirement community where I live, eight months of isolation because of Covid-19 is beginning to take its toll.  While we are no longer “locked down” like we were during the first few months of […]

Music to my ears: Learning on Zoom

Written by Sophia Tu, BS candidate at Saint Louis University; participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program- Aging and Neurological Diseases Track I was sitting in front of my computer screen with the volume turned up, listening intently as the words coming through the speakers gave me goosebumps. Some nights I would catch […]

Bridging the gap: How purpose-driven research impacts everyday lives

Written by Lindsey Debosik, B.S. candidate in Public Health and Health Management at Saint Louis University and participant in the 2020 Institute of Public Health Summer Research Program For the longest time, I did not understand the value of research to society or to oppressed individuals within that society. As a public health student, I […]

Exploring a human-centric field in our remote society

By Kyla Kikkawa, B.A. Candidate, Washington University in St. Louis Participant, Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program, Aging and Neurological Diseases Track As we concluded our virtual program, each of us were shown versions of our “older selves” created by a digital application, which would have been printed on our name placards had we […]

Zooming and aging: Empirical research in the time of COVID

Written by Nahom Zewde, BA candidate at Earlham College, Indiana; participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program– Aging and Neurological Diseases Track I am currently a pre-medical student at Earlham College, studying Biochemistry and Mathematics. Alongside my academics, I am involved in many volunteering activities, at a skilled nursing facility and a […]

Best of a bad situation: Discovering new interests and learning new skills

Written by Mateo Blair, B.A. candidate in Biochemistry at Washington University in St. Louis & participant in the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program The Covid-19 pandemic has made the past couple of months hectic. before I got news that it would be entirely virtual this summer, the Summer Research Program – Aging […]

Reflection: COVID-19 exacerbates ageism in our society

by Danielle Friz, BSN Candidate, ’21, University of Missouri – St. Louis; participant Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program- Aging and Neurological Diseases Track In a seminar led by Dr. Nancy Morrow-Howell, director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for­­ Aging, I was very interested to learn about how ageism has played such a […]

Interpreting Alzheimer’s Disease through both a personal and educational lens

Written by Aja Jones, B.A. candidate in Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis & participant in the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program In an online seminar for the summer program’s Aging and Neurological Diseases Track with Matthew Wynn, a graduate student focusing on Geropsychology, I was able to […]

Perspective: Warning-don’t define us by our age!

Written by Barbara L. Finch, MLA Depending upon where you are in life’s journey, birthdays have a different meanings.  For children and teenagers, they are exciting milestones: ready for school (6), obtain a driver’s license (16), able to vote (18), legally buy a beer (21). Between 21 and 50 there don’t seem to be many […]

Perspective: Broadening the scope as the country re-imagines policing

Written by Ron Long, head of Wells Fargo Aging Client Services In the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, there has been a call to reimagine policing. As an African American male who has been stopped over 20 times in my life thus far, I fully support having those conversations. Some […]

Aging: Enlarging the Frame

Written by Ellen C. Boone, PhD, Chair, Potpourri 2020 Committee Yes, as Galucia, Morrow-Howell, and Swinford have written, the coverage of COVID-19 does distort perceptions of the older adult population, especially the 95 percent who do not reside in nursing homes. To counter this distortion, I composed the following lines, with the intention of enlarging […]

COVID-19: Viewing the Virus from Senior Living and Senior Living

Written by Barbara L. Finch, MLA and alumna, Washington University in St. Louis Shortly before my husband and I moved into an independent living retirement community three years ago, a friend asked: “Will this be like living in a college dorm?” In some ways it is. There are a number of people (in our case, […]

Won’t you be my neighbor? Inter-generational living in St. Louis

Written by Emma Swinford, MPH, MSW, Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging Embed from Getty Images The Back Story My experience in the world of inter-generational living started when I began working as a  research assistant with the Friedman Center for Aging in my second year of grad school. The Friedman Center’s work on inter-generational […]

WashU Joins Age-Friendly Network (Links to an external site)

Washington University in St. Louis joins Age-Friendly University Global Network Washington University in St. Louis is a new member of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, a group of educational institutions committed to expanding programs and policies to engage people in all life stages. Universities in the network help develop innovations in education, research, and community […]