November 2007 Volume 1, Number 9

News and Events

SAVE THE DATE - Spring 2008 Research Retreat

The 2008 Center on Aging Research Retreat will be held on February 28 (afternoon) and 29 (morning), 2008 in Alumni Hall in the Health Sciences Education Building. Jeffrey Halter, M.D., Director of the University of Michigan Geriatrics Center, will be our keynote speaker. A poster session and reception will occur on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning's schedule will include oral presentations by recipients of the Center's 2007 pilot grants, as well as Dr. Halter's keynote address. Additional information regarding the plans for the retreat will follow in subsequent newsletter editions.

Announcing a New Interdisciplinary Seminar Course Offering in Spring 2008

The interdisciplinary seminar series offered the last three semesters will be offered in Spring 2008 as a one-hour credit course for students (Geron 5960/6960-002). All presentations will be recorded for streaming media and podcasts (via ITunesU).

Please bring this new course offering to the attention of students in your department and encourage them to enroll. Please go to http://aging.utah.edu for the complete listing.

New Scholar Award in Aging for 2008

The objective of The Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholars Program is to support new investigators of outstanding promise in the basic biological sciences relevant to understanding lifespan development processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The award is intended to provide significant support to new investigators needed to permit them to become established in the field of aging. Beginning with the class of 2008 New Scholars, The New Scholars Program provides awards of up to $100,000 per year for a four year period for successful candidates.

Internal Deadline: Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Full Proposal: Friday, 29 February 2008 (5 PM EST)

For more information, go to http://www.ellisonfoundation.org, or louise.tonin@utah.edu.

Center on Aging Faculty Member Spotlight: Robert Hill

Dr. Hill is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Utah. From 2000 through 2007 he was the Chair of this Department. Dr. Hill's research interests are in memory rehabilitation strategies in older adults and the role of affirmative lifestyle strategies that optimize adaptation in old age. He recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship at Maastricht University in the Netherlands where he wrote, Positive Aging: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, published by WW Norton. This text offers an evidence-based for addressing the psychological needs of growing old. Positive Aging describes how fostering an affirmative mindset can facilitate late-life adaptation. He has a forthcoming companion volume that will appear through WW Norton in February 2008, The Seven Strategies of Positive Aging, that operationalizes these concepts for a lay consumer audience.

Dr. Hill has published research in a number of areas that focus on psychological factors and their role in predicting optimal adaptation in old age:

Hill, R. D. & Mansour, E. (2007). The role of positive aging in addressing the mental health needs of older adults. In D. Gallagher, L. Thompson (Eds), CBT and Evidence Based approaches for mental health treatment in older adults. Guilford: NY (in press).
Valentijn, S. A. M., Hill, R. D., van Hooren, S., Bosma, H. van Boxtel, M. P. J., Jolles, J. and Ponds, W.H.M. (2006). Memory self-efficacy predicts memory performance: Results from a six-year follow-up study. Psychology and Aging, 21, 165-172.
Hill, R. D., van Boxtel, M. P. J., Ponds, R., Houx, P. J., & Jolles, J. (2005). Positive affect and its relationship to free recall memory performance in a sample of older Dutch adults from the Maastricht Aging Study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 1-7.

Dr. Hill is a licensed psychologist in the State of Utah. He is currently a member of an interdisciplinary team working within the GRECC examining the role of telehealth as vehicle for the delivery of patient-centered care in rural veterans:

Bair, Rupper, Hill et al. (2007). Telehealth for elderly veterans: What an innovative demonstration project teaches us about healthcare delivery. (The Federal Practitioner, submitted)

About our logo: The bristlecone pine tree (Pinus longaeva) - the earth's oldest inhabitant with a life span of 4,000 years - is found only in Utah and five other western states. Its extraordinary longevity and ability to adapt and survive in extremely harsh environmental conditions above 10,000 feet embodies the investigative spirit and mission of the Utah Center on Aging.

If you have questions about the University of Utah Center on Aging, please visit us online at http://aging.utah.edu
801-585-9540 or aging@hsc.utah.edu

Best,

Mark A. Supiano, MD
Executive Director - Center on Aging