Vitality Magazine Fall 2021

USC LEONARD DAVIS SCHOOL OF GERONTOLOGY

VOL. 13 A Magazine for All Ages FALL 2021

Aging as a Global Issue

How international collaboration addresses the challenges facing aging societies

DEAN’S MESSAGE Dear USC Leonard Davis School community,

Stay safe, and Fight On!

Pinchas Cohen MD Dean, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Photo: Stephanie Kleinman

“We begin this new academic year at a pivotal time for our world, our field, our school and our students.”

The phrase “back to school” is more meaningful than ever before. After a year and a half of remote learning, our ability to safely return to campus demonstrates the significance of scientific advances, highlights the resilience of our community, and reinforces our mission to promote healthy aging for diverse individuals, communities and societies.

We begin this new academic year at a pivotal time for our world, our field, our school and our students. The COVID-19 pandemic, pervasive inequities and a rapidly aging global population underscore the need for science, scholarship and service devoted to aging with health and security and challenge us to change the status quo.

As I begin my tenth year as dean, I am incredibly proud of and thankful for our faculty, staff, students and graduates. They have met many immense challenges with creativity and understanding during the last year and a half.

I am also proud of how our school is growing and transforming to meet the needs of this new era.

The Leonard Davis School’s research programs are expanding, both in terms of funding and content, and our newest degree offerings provide forward-thinking education for in-demand careers in nutrition, senior living, health care and more.

During this unprecedented time, many challenges lie ahead for our community and the gerontology field as a whole. I am confident that we will continue to tackle the toughest issues with ingenuity and innovation and further underscore our status as the preeminent institution for aging education and research in the world.

VITALITY MAGAZINE — Chief Communications Officer Orli Belman Editor in Chief Beth Newcomb Managing Editor Natalie Avunjian Design Golden Design Studio Copy Editor Mary Nadler Contributors Lois Albert Angelo Katherine Gammon Jenesse Miller Cover Art Cornelia Li

USC LEONARD DAVIS SCHOOL OF GERONTOLOGY — Dean Pinchas Cohen Executive Vice Dean Kelvin J. A. Davies Senior Associate Dean Maria L. Henke Senior Associate Dean for Advancement David Eshaghpour Associate Dean of Research Sean Curran Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Donna Benton Assistant Dean of Education John Walsh Assistant Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs Mara Mather Assistant Dean of International Programs and Global Initiatives Jennifer Ailshire Senior Business Officer Lali Acuna Senior Human Resources Business Partner Wendy Snaer

INSIDE

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Postcard Lessons in senior living leadership

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Findings New studies on brain injuries, immunity and aging in place

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Vital Signs Brain health knowledge from USC experts

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Service Students help older adults navigate technology and stay connected

FEATURED —

14 24 34 Aging as a Worldwide Issue Why addressing the needs of an aging population requires global collaboration

Labor of Love The COVID-19 pandemic puts caregivers under more pressure

Knowledge & Service Students feel empowered to help older adults

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In Memoriam Remembering Phoebe Liebig

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Support New scholarship fund honors Edward Schneider

20 30 40 Healthy Aging in the Amazon The Tsimane people of Bolivia show slower brain aging

What’s in a Name?

How generational labels pose a challenge to fighting ageism

A Commencement Like No Other Safely celebrating extraordinary grads in the Coliseum

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AWARDS

SPOTLIGHT

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Bérénice Benayoun Nathan Shock New Investigator Award, Gerontological Society of America; Junior Faculty Grant Award, Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and American Federation for Aging Research

Eileen Crimmins, University Professor and AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School, has received the most prestigious award in the field of demography in recognition of her extraordinary career.

The Irene B. Taeuber Award, which is given every two years by the Population Association of America, recognizes those who have made unusually original or important contributions to the study of population or have an accumulated record of exceptionally sound and innovative research.

A USC faculty member since 1982, Crimmins is the director of the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health, one of the Demography of Aging Centers supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and has directed USC’s Multidisciplinary Research Training in Gerontology Program since 2005. Crimmins is also a co-investigator of the Health and Retirement Study, a project sponsored by the NIA and the Social Security Administration. Professor Crimmins is past president of the PAA. In recent years, she has been listed as one of the world’s most influential scientific minds in social sciences by media and information firm Thomson Reuters, was elected to both the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and received the Gerontological Society of America’s Robert W. Kleemeier Award for outstanding gerontology research. Her USC honors include receiving the Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship, being named a University Professor, and receiving a USC mentoring award for her service to postdoctoral scholars and faculty. — B.N.

Min-Kyoung Rhee General Education Teaching Award, USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Conscience Princesse Bwiza International Fellowship, American Association of University Women Maria Henke Administrative Leadership Honor, Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education and Gerontological Society of America

QUOTABLE —

“I do believe we need to transform our payment structures to better support this type of [home-based palliative] care.”

— Susan Enguídanos, who spoke to Verywell Health News on how patients who received end-of-life care at home were more satisfied with their care and incurred lower health care costs than patients receiving end-of-life care in hospital settings.

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Photos: John Skalicky, Natalie Avunjian

NEWS BITES

GLOSSARY —

IN PRINT —

Illustration: useng/iStockphoto

New Book Provides Lessons in Senior Living Leadership Many students take notes to remember important lessons imparted during lectures. Matthew Lifschultz MASM ’18 took it one step further. He turned those notes into a book with his professor, Edward L. Schneider. Paths to Leadership in the Senior Living Industry (Springer, 2021) collects the wisdom of top senior living leaders, many of whom are regular speakers in Schneider’s popular class GERO 589: Case Studies in Leadership and Change Management.

“Taken together, these essays present the past, present and future of this relatively young industry,” says co-editor Schneider, professor of gerontology, medicine and biology and USC Leonard Davis dean emeritus. Contributors include USC Leonard Davis Board of Councilors members Rick Matros MSG ’77, Patricia Will, Loren Shook and Mercedes Kerr.

The timely book recounts how leaders dealt with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and reinforces themes of adaptability through challenge and change, including how to meet the needs of the Baby Boom generation, provide more affordable options and recruit and retain a skilled workforce.

“Senior living is a very complex industry that requires knowledge of many topics, from regulations, health care, and psychology to management, business administration and hospitality,” says Lifschultz, a former practicing attorney who also had careers in housing policy and corporate communications.

After losing his mom, a death he attributes to her loneliness and isolation, Lifschultz entered gerontology wanting to improve living environments for older adults. He and Schneider hope the experiences and perspectives in the book will provide guidance on how to do just that. — O.B.

Gerontechnology designing technologies and environments to promote the health, independent living, safety and social participation of older people - International Society for Gerontechnology Data Harmonization the synchronization of questions and research procedures so that results from different studies can be directly compared - Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan Machine Learning the use of computer systems that can learn and adapt without following explicit instructions by using algorithms and statistical models to draw inferences from patterns in data.

- Oxford English Dictionary

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NEWS BITES

Capitol Public Radio

IN THE MEDIA —

CNN

U.S. life expectancy fell by more than a year during coronavirus pandemic, research suggests “This unprecedented change likely stems from social and economic inequities that are associated with both higher exposure to infection and higher fatality among those infected.”

— Postdoctoral Scholar Theresa Andrasfay

Washington Post INTERVIEW

“Age is the number-one cause of risk for mortality from COVID-19, but it’s not chronological age; it’s biological age.”

— Pinchas Cohen in a Wall Street Journal article on how COVID-19 will affect aging and retirement

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What really works to help an aging brain “Smoking is probably the number one risk factor [for declining brain health] — it affects your nervous system and vascular system.”

— Professor Elizabeth Zelinski

New York Times

Volunteering was my personal fountain of youth “The health benefits for older volunteers are mind-blowing. … In addition to taking blood and doing all the other things that the doctor does when he or she pushes and prods and pokes [when performing a physical exam], the doctor should say to you, ‘So tell me about your volunteering.’”

— Distinguished Scholar in Residence Paul Irving

Intersection of diet and aging “I don’t think of diet as the be-all-end-all…

I think of diet as one piece of the equation of ‘What is health?’ and ‘How do we stay healthy as we age?’”

— Instructional Associate Professor Cary Kreutzer

U.S. News & World Report Pandemic precautions: the TV news you watch might matter “In a highly partisan environment, false information can be easily disseminated.”

— PhD in Gerontology students Erfei Zhao and Qiao Wu

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Exercise protein” doubles running capacity in mice “Mitochondria are known as the cell’s energy source, but they are also hubs that coordinate and fine-tune metabolism by actively communicating to the rest of the body.”

— Assistant Professor Changhan David Lee

CNBC

Biogen Alzheimer’s drug and the battle over dementia treatment of the future “If you say, well, hey, the FDA is buying into this general concept [that] if we can remove beta amyloid from the brains of persons that are affected by the disease, even with limited evidence of cognitive benefits… there might be a variety of different therapies that would qualify under these types of criteria.”

— Professor Christian Pike

The Guardian

Study reveals alarming trend in U.S. death rates since 2000 “Americans … often practice poor health behaviors, and this may interact with structural conditions like patchwork access to health care to produce worse outcomes.”

— Assistant Professor Jessica Ho

Washington Post

Forbes

STAT

Oprah Quarterly Magazine

The mystery of 9/11 and dementia “There’s a large amount of uncertainty, and the data is just in the beginning of being collected. But everyone there I talked with said this is something we ought to look at very seriously. It’s clear that this is a lingering brain insult, 20 years later.”

— University Professor Caleb Finch

Palliative care works, so why is it rarely used? Follow the money “Palliative teams require an upfront investment by hospitals and health systems. Given current payment systems, the return on this investment to health systems can actually be negative.”

— Associate Professor Mireille Jacobson

Los Angeles Times

A support group for women on the front lines of the caregiving crisis “[The church] serves as a trusted middleman.”

— Research Associate Professor Donna Benton on how the USC Family Caregiver Support Center’s partnership with First African Methodist Episcopal Church has helped reach caregivers in need of support

USA Today

8 adjustments to make at home to help prevent trips and falls “Ladders in and of themselves are risky.

Anything seniors use routinely should be put on special lower shelves. And they could think about using items that aren’t as heavy.”

— Professor Jon Pynoos

Vogue

6 ways to reset your diet this fall, from detoxes to CSA boxes “No matter what diet you have, your system may tend to become dysfunctional.”

— Professor Valter Longo

How to fix conservatorship in America “[With proper estate planning documents in place] If someone loses capacity, they have set up a mechanism to manage the estate. … Talk with family members about your wishes, especially if you want a family member to act as your agent.”

— Professor Kathleen Wilber

The upside of trauma “When your sense of safety, well-being and identity is challenged and you have to rethink who you are and what you want, that’s when growth happens.”

— Research Assistant Professor Em Arpawong

Discover Magazine

An indigenous Amazonian group may hold a key to slowing down the aging process “The healthy diet of the Tsimane is likely protective of their brains and their hearts.”

— Assistant Professor Andrei Irimia

Yahoo News

Here are which states have the longest life expectancies — and which have the shortest “States that took Obamacare and took the federal government supplement to insure their uninsured populations [played] a role.”

— University Professor Eileen Crimmins

Next City

A medical moonshot would help fix inequality in American health care “Including patients of color in clinical trials to test new drugs is vital to learn how well new interventions work across the entire population.”

— Assistant Professor Reginald Tucker-Seeley

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NEWS BITES

Similar Brain Changes in Alzheimer’s and TBI Patients

FINDINGS —

Voices Missing From Aging-in-Place Literature

Current research on aging in place often doesn’t include the perspectives of African-American women and the issues that affect their aging and their communities, according to a literature review led by Assistant Professor Reginald Tucker-Seeley.

The CDC defines aging in place as “the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level.”

But there are many factors affecting older African-American women in particular — from intersecting challenges of racism and sexism to the impact of faith communities and gentrification — that aren’t reflected in aging-inplace research, Tucker-Seeley said.

The review, which was presented during the 2020 Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, examined 152 scientific articles on aging in place. Only 14 explicitly included African-American women in the sample population.

“Research literature is like a conversation among scientists, and many of us are not privy to that conversation. A scoping review highlights what’s missing from the conversation,” Tucker-Seeley said. — ­ B.N.

“With the push for personalized medicine, people focus on minute genetic differences, but we find that biological sex — the biggest genetic difference of all — is actually a great predictor for immune response [that is] seldom taken into account. ” — Bérénice Benayoun, assistant professor of gerontology

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Brain changes in Alzheimer’s patients and in those with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have significant similarities, per a study led

by Assistant Professor Andrei Irimia.

In the study, which appeared in GeroScience in April 2021, magnetic resonance imaging revealed similar patterns of tissue degradation — including thinning of the brain’s cortex — in both TBI and Alzheimer’s study participants as compared to healthy control subjects. In addition, machine learning techniques accurately predicted the severity of Alzheimer’s-like brain changes observed after mild TBI, based on cognitive tests.

TBIs, which affect more than 1.7 million Americans every year, are often followed by changes in brain structure and function.

“These findings are the first to suggest that cognitive impairment following a traumatic brain injury is useful for predicting the magnitude of Alzheimer’s-like brain degradation,” Irimia says. “The results may help health professionals to identify TBI victims who are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease.” — J.M.

Immune Cell Function Varies by Sex

A study of neutrophils — a common, yet poorly understood, type of white blood cell — revealed that the responses of these cells to pathogens differ greatly by sex and age.

Critical to fighting infections, neutrophils make up about 50% to 70% of white blood cells. Understanding sex- and age-based differences in how neutrophils function could help us understand similar disparities in human illnesses, said Assistant Professor Bérénice Benayoun, who led the study.

Appearing in Nature Aging in July 2021, the study showed that male mice are much more susceptible than female mice to sepsis, a condition in which the body’s defense system turns harmful to itself. However, as the females age, their immune systems change to become nearly as susceptible as those of males.

Left: a neutrophil, a type of immune cell, ensnares a pathogen to destroy it.

Benayoun said the findings highlight important implications for studying diseases and cures, and especially cures for sepsis.

The findings also suggest that the quest for precision medicine may be overlooking more obvious disease determinants: age and sex.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest multi-omic dataset for the study of neutrophils, and we believe it will be a resource for the scientific community,” Benayoun said.

“Specifically, it is one of the rare cases to include both sexes and organismal aging, rather than focusing on only one sex or one age group.” — B.N.

Photo: Ryan Lu/Benayoun Lab

Latinos More Likely to Die from COVID-19

A study of a large, diverse group of Medicaid enrollees found that Latino patients had starkly higher odds of a positive COVID-19 test — as well as higher odds of hospitalization and death — than white patients.

The analysis was co-authored by Associate Professor Mireille Jacobson and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in July 2021.

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities in terms of infection, hospitalizations and deaths. The interplay of social, economic and demographic factors influencing COVID outcomes remains poorly understood. Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID vary widely across the country and seem to depend on local context, the authors said.

“Even among a population of Medicaid patients who are similarly economically disadvantaged, Latinos are shouldering an unfair burden in this deadly pandemic,” Jacobson said. “The substantially higher risk facing Latinos should be a key consideration in California’s strategies to mitigate COVID-19 transmission and harm.” — J.M.

MOTS-c Protects Pancreas in Type 1 Diabetes Model

Treating mice prone to Type 1 diabetes with the small protein MOTS-c prevented their immune systems from destroying insulin-producing pancreatic cells, effectively preventing the onset of the disease.

The small mitochondrial protein that first made headlines as an “exercise mimetic” increasingly appears to also have a big role in immune system regulation, said assistant professor of gerontology Changhan David Lee, co-corresponding author of the study.

In patients with Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the islet regions of the pancreas. When immune cells mistakenly destroy healthy beta cells—the pancreatic cells that produce the sugar-regulating hormone insulin—the body loses the ability to make insulin, control blood sugar levels and properly use sugar for energy. MOTS-c appears to support regulatory T-cells — the immune cells that recognize which cells are the body’s own — and thereby reduces the activation of “killer” T-cells that improperly attack healthy cells in the pancreatic islets.

“MOTS-c injections seem to tame the immune system and to tell [T-cells] not to tackle their own cells,” Lee said. — ­ B.N.

“Even among a population of Medicaid patients who are similarly economically disadvantaged, Latinos are shouldering an unfair burden of this deadly pandemic.”

— Mireille Jacobson, associate professor of gerontology and senior fellow at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics

4.75x higher risk of death from COVID-19 for Latino Medicaid patients vs. white enrollees

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NEWS BITES

health and longevity based on scientific evidence, integrating academic study with professional practice experience. Graduates are eligible to sit for the registration examination to become RDNs.

NEW DIRECTIONS —

Three New Nutrition and Dietetics Master’s Degrees

50+ students and alumni of the USC PhD in the Biology of Aging program since 2014

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Beginning in the fall of 2021, three new programs, offered both online and on campus, will provide students with a flexible approach to gaining expertise for in-demand careers in food service management, dietetics and nutrition across the lifespan.

The Master of Arts in Foodservice Management and Dietetics (MAFMD) prepares students to communicate principles and practices of lifespan nutrition related to health and longevity, as well as to evaluate principles and practices related to wellness.

Graduates will be able to sit for the national Certifying Board for Dietary Managers (CBDM®) Credentialing Exam.

The Master of Science in Nutritional Science (MSNS) gives students who have completed an undergraduate degree in nutrition and registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN) an opportunity to earn a master’s degree with an emphasis on aging and wellness.

The Master of Science in Lifespan, Nutrition and Dietetics (MSLND) addresses the global need for professionals who are trained to provide nutrition and dietetics advice, information and recommendations.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the national Certifying Board for Dietary Managers (CBDM®) Credentialing Exam.

The three new nutrition degrees are in addition to the USC Leonard Davis School’s Master of Science in Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity degree. Designed for students who want to pursue a career in nutrition and dietetics and approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), this degree promotes

$4 Million NIA Grant Supports Geroscientists

The USC Leonard Davis School and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging received a $4 million award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) that continues and expands the institutions’ joint Geroscience Training Program in the Biology of Aging.

The five-year grant, which doubles the amount of the initial 2014 award, supports both predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees and aims to prepare them to lead the next generation of research in geroscience – a multidisciplinary approach to the study of aging that, as defined by the NIA, seeks to understand the genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms that make aging a major risk factor and driver of common chronic conditions and diseases of older people.

Since its inception, 13 predoctoral and 6 postdoctoral trainees have been supported by the T32 grant.

“The renewal of our training grant recognizes the quality of our research and training in various biological disciplines at the forefront of geroscience research and provides substantial support to allow both to continue and grow,” said Distinguished Professor Kelvin Davies, executive vice dean of the Leonard Davis School and principal investigator of the Biology of Aging Training Grant.

Started in 2014 and directed by Davies, the Biology of Aging PhD enables students to become experts in the theory and methods of one specific area of biological research, while also preparing them to incorporate methods and approaches from other disciplines in cutting-edge areas of biological and gerontological research. To date, 14 students have earned PhDs, and more than 40 others are currently progressing through the program. — O.B.

Paul Nash, Instructional Associate Professor of Gerontology, discussed his research in ageism and discriminatory practices against older adults and his experiences teaching at the USC Leonard Davis School.

Q: What sparked your passion for aging?

A: I was initially interested in implicit attitudes, i.e., what people really think as opposed to what they say they think. When I started to look into the area, there was not much work done on aging, and certainly nothing like the amount that existed in the areas of race/ethnicity and gender. ... The more I looked at the emerging field of gerontology, I understood that this was a field where research could be transformational.

Photo: Stephanie Kleinman

Q: What are you currently researching?

A: My current research is based around discrimination, cumulative disadvantage and intersectional stigma. Centered around ageism, I am interested in the different aging trajectories experienced by people with different life experiences who belong to different social groupings. Currently, much of my research is focused on older adults living with HIV, especially those from minority backgrounds. This also feeds into my volunteer and applied work with the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV. Q: How can we better support older adults in our communities, especially those living with HIV? A: We paint this mental image in our head that all older people are going to be frail or have cognitive impairment, but that’s just not true. ... What we need to do is open

our minds, address some of the ageist assumptions that we have, and actually start to work with older adults as well, rather than relying on stereotypes. We can try to make sure that health messages are targeted and available for these specific groups.

If we make assumptions, such as “Old people don’t have sex,” we’re automatically cutting them off both from research and from health services.

Q: What is your favorite topic to teach?

A: As a psychologist by training, I love the psychological constructs associated with our understanding of aging, the principles of attitude formation and how this impacts our own aging and that of the people around us and wider society. It is great to see the realization hit when people see how ingrained ageism is and how we all just look past it.

Q: What advice do you have for students going into the field?

A: Be creative! Gerontologists are needed everywhere, as older people are involved in every sphere of life. Products need to be designed with aging in mind. Finance companies need to address increasing healthspans. Training needs will change over the lifespan, and older people need to be part of that narrative. Gerontology is such a widely applicable qualification that you need to go where your passion lies.

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VITAL SIGNS

Experts Share Alzheimer’s Knowledge and Brain Health Tips

— Andrei Irimia, assistant professor of gerontology, biomedical engineering and neuroscience

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THE PROMISE OF RESEARCH ON MISFOLDED PROTEINS IN ALZHEIMER’S AND PARKINSON’S DISEASES “I think that we have found a new mechanism that can cause these diseases. And if the mechanism is indeed correct, that means we can now do something about it.

So it’s really about finding the origin of the disease itself in order to be able to design medicine for it.”

— Marc Vermulst

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE “At the core of it, the disease is very much the same across all people. But then when you begin to break it down into the effects of different risk factors, you begin to see significant differences.”

— Christian Pike THE BENEFITS OF COGNITIVE ENGAGEMENT “It could be something as simple as playing instruments, speaking other languages and learning new things, taking classes later in life and socializing with people, but anything that kind of keeps you sharp and keeps you on your feet is another good way to cope with the realities of some of the things that we’re exposed to that might otherwise weaken the health of our brain.”

— Jennifer Ailshire

Illustration: Kateryna Kovarzh/iStockphoto

“The biological age of the brain increases dramatically after a traumatic brain injury sustained after the age of 65.”

Want to know more about Alzheimer’s disease and maintaining a healthy mind? Here’s just some of what USC experts have shared on Lessons in Lifespan Health, the podcast produced by the USC Leonard Davis School.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE IN BRAIN HEALTH “I see these being sort of the yin and the yang of what is really going to help brain health. You need the high arousal, sympathetic nervous system properties that allow for brain plasticity, and you also need these relaxation, parasympathetic properties that allow for things to be repaired and for waste to be cleared out.”

— Mara Mather HOW TO BETTER SUPPORT DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS “The policies need to be there so that we get better diagnoses, so that we have more physicians who are trained to recognize and help family members, and so that social services and physicians know where to refer people once they have a diagnosis of dementia and also know how to help the family. …

Over the course of many years, as the disease progresses, you’re going to need different training [and] different information.”

— Donna Benton

Photo: Beth Newcomb

THE IMPACTS OF CONCUSSIONS “After age 40 or 45, there is a little bit of an increase in the risk for degenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s disease. And that risk really increases after age 65. We have a preliminary study where we found that the biological age of the brain increases dramatically after a traumatic brain injury sustained after the age of 65, whereas for a concussion sustained before that time, the biological age of the brain does not increase substantially at all.”

— Andrei Irimia

Subscribe to Lessons in Lifespan Health at lifespanhealth.usc.edu.

Walsh leads his Gerontology 310 students in exercises on the lawn in front of the Andrus Gerontology Center during a break from his lecture on August 25, 2021.

STUDENTS —

A Healthy Start to the Semester USC Leonard Davis School students are staying active and getting a real-life lesson in healthy aging thanks to their instructor, Associate Professor John Walsh.

During the past year and a half of online classes, Walsh led a core-strengthening exercise routine for his students from afar to help break up long class periods spent in front of a computer screen. This semester, he’s brought the routine back to campus and leads exercises on the lawn in front of the Andrus Gerontology Center for his students in Gerontology 310: the Physiology of Aging.

Walsh, who is 65 and a “diehard surfer,” said surfing plus his daily exercise routine has kept him limber and active and helped him recover from a serious back injury and subsequent surgery three decades ago. Appropriately, a sizable portion of the Gero 310 course discusses how a healthy diet and exercise affect aging, he added.

“At least a quarter of the class is devoted to a healthy diet and exercise versus overnutrition and obesity with respect to risk versus prevention of diseases like cancer and diabetes,” Walsh said. “Doing stretch and core allows them to practice what they will preach — same for me.” — B.N.

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NEWS BITES

SERVICE —

Students from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and throughout the university have found ways to serve their local communities despite social distancing and virtual communication. In particular, empowering older adults through technology education has been a new and innovative way for students to continue meeting and working with older adults.

“What a wonderful surprise that the USC interns returned this spring with a wide variety of creative programming. It’s offered us the opportunity to learn, share and interact in a way that has certainly enriched our lives, and that has helped us adapt and learn new skills in response to this new

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world we all find ourselves in during these challenging times,” said Lisa Tanashi, a resident of Villa Gardens in Pasadena.

Feeling isolated due to the pandemic, Tanashi started attending events hosted

by Advocates for Healthy Aging promoting wellness and other coping strategies during the spring of 2021. Members of the Advocates for Healthy Aging group, led by Human Development and Aging alumni Audrey Lam ’21 and Brandon Ann ’21, started a technology hotline for the residents of Villa Gardens.

Student volunteers utilize Zoom and Google Voice for hourlong shifts to meet with older adults who may have any issues with certain devices or programs they use.

Illustration: Marina Skobliakova/iStockphoto

Helping Older Adults Navigate Tech and Fight Isolation

“Honestly, it was the only time I’ve ever felt pure joy from answering a phone call,” said Nicole Leon, junior in Human Development and Aging and co-volunteer coordinator for the Advocates for Healthy Aging. “Technology is only going to continue to evolve and grow in prevalence, so it’s important that systems be put in place to ensure that everyone is able to reap the benefits.”

GeroTech SC, another organization dedicated to helping older adults with technology-related issues, led several presentations throughout the pandemic. These student-led presentations help members of the USC Emeriti Center and Half-Century Trojans with issues such as how to navigate Twitter and Instagram and the best tips and tricks for Apple devices.

Human Development and Aging alumna Sarah Zhang ’21 led the organization throughout the pandemic, teaching both student presenters and older participants how to navigate the Zoom space.

“I loved the collaborative nature of the workshops, especially when some alumni and retirees chimed in to answer their peers’ questions,” Zhang said. “It was such a rewarding experience when they found the workshops helpful, and hopefully they’ll get to use what they have learned in their daily lives.”

Robert Frinier, USC alumnus and coordinator of the Half-Century Trojans, often works with and helps direct GeroTech’s endeavors and presentations.

“GeroTech has the ability to present today’s technology in such an easy-to-understand way,” Frinier said. “It has opened the doors to the 21st century for an untold number of HCT alumni who otherwise would still be in the 20th century. We are very grateful.”

Caleb Huang, a junior majoring in International Relations and the Global Economy,

joined GeroTech during the pandemic.

“I think it’s really rewarding to be a part of GeroTech,” Huang said. “I really like the one-on-one aspect of helping the participants, as I get to not only help them with their tech issues, but also just have a normal conversation.”

Another group, the Medical Gerontology Association, partnered with St. Vincent Meals on Wheels to help facilitate a survey and class for older adults on learning about proper device use. The group is also piloting a program called “Science with Seniors.”

As the university transitions back to in-person activities, many organizations plan to continue their efforts to assist older adults in the use of new technology.

“We feel very fortunate to have this connection with USC and these exceptional, special interns and human beings,” Tanashi said. — L.A.A.

“Honestly, it was the only time I’ve ever felt pure joy from answering a phone call. ... Technology is only going to continue to evolve and grow in prevalence, so it’s important that systems be put in place to ensure that everyone is able to reap the benefits.”

— Nicole Leon, junior in Human Development and Aging

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s

By Katharine Gammon • Illustrations by Cornelia Li n 2019, there were 703 million people ages 65 and over in the world; by 2050, the number is projected to double to 1.5 billion. This group is growing at a faster rate than the total population, which raises the question: How will the world handle the needs of these increasing numbers of older people?

Global organizations are only recently recognizing the need to address aging challenges and devise policies to help people live healthier as they live longer, as USC Leonard Davis Dean Pinchas Cohen wrote in a column regarding the inclusion of aging in the G-20 Summit agenda in 2019: “We need to be investing in health spans, extending the portion of our lives that we spend in good health rather than in disability.”

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Addressing the needs of our aging population poses large challenges — and the pandemic has shown how important it is to cooperate across nations to effectively develop solutions these challenges. USC gerontologists are working to understand the global aging landscape and apply their knowledge to improving conditions.

AGING LOOKS DIFFERENT ACROSS THE GLOBE Part of the problem is that researchers still don’t know what normal aging is, says Associate Professor Jennifer Ailshire, Assistant Dean of International Programs and Global Initiatives at the Leonard Davis School. “When we look around the globe, we get different health care cultural contexts. But if we see something that is pretty consistent, then we can think of that as something that is a normal, typical aspect of aging.” The power of doing global comparisons, she adds, is that researchers can find out more about the true nature of aging than they would by looking at just one country. USC is unique in the creation of the information hub Gateway to Global Aging Data, which facilitates the comparison of data from different studies to dig into some of the issues in aging.

Ailshire’s research focuses on social and economic comparisons across countries. She recently published a paper on family caregiving and where people die, illustrating that social factors are critical in understanding equity. Most international research looks at data and ignores social environment, she says, but where people

“When we look around the globe, we get different health care cultural contexts. But if we see something that is pretty consistent, then we can think of that as something that is a normal, typical aspect of aging.”

— Associate Professor Jennifer Ailshire

die involves both their socioeconomic and health status — no matter where in the world they lived. “Research on determinants of place of death has largely ignored the family,” she says. “Often people only die at home if someone is there to take care of them, so people who had family members who could care for them had the option to die at home.”

The research represents a paradigm shift: The death and dying experience is not just individual, but happens in a broader experiment of social context, Ailshire says.

“I think there is an acknowledgment now that supporting

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a good end-of-life experience does not just mean supporting the person [who is] dying, but also the family, because they are so involved in this experience,” she says. “End of life is as important as other parts of life.”

USC has had a research focus on caregiving across the lifespan, Ailshire says, and governments are beginning to create policies on these issues.

USC University Professor and AARP Chair in Gerontology Eileen Crimmins has worked on studies assessing healthy aging that include both biological and social factors — and her work now involves more than half the globe, from India to Europe. She says she became interested in promoting the inclusion of biomarkers and biological measurement in all of these studies starting back in the 1990s, when England began studying aging in earnest. In many countries, such studies have lasted for decades, compiling both survey data and biological data and offering a robust dataset to help us understand aging.

“This comparable approach to aging across lots of different countries lets us see what is universal and what is not universal, and what might be affected by policy and social circumstances,” Crimmins says.

Aging tends to happen earlier in countries where people have had adverse childhoods and may not have had adequate nutrition or good medical care early in life. But even that isn’t always true: Researchers have puzzled for years about the relatively poor performance of the United States in longevity and health, despite the high degree of medical access. The U.S. ranks 36th in life expectancy.

Crimmins is also involved in studies to examine the genetic factors that predict illnesses like Alzheimer’s. “We don’t know if those genetic markers are the same in, say, India and the United States, or whether the risk factors in the United States are different from those in India,” she says — though the data point of low education as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s applies everywhere. Other things are less clear, such as the role of hypertension or diabetes. Crimmins and her colleagues are also beginning to study epigenetic changes — that is, changes not in the DNA itself, but in what genes are expressed — related to cognitive development as well as cognitive decline.

One location where social factors and biology come together in outcomes is Ireland. Crimmins has a Three-Countries Grant to analyze data obtained from people living in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United States, looking at childhood circumstances and epigenetic changes. Those three populations have a great deal of similarity in terms of genetic background, and even social and economic background somewhat, relative to the rest of the world.

Adversity in childhood is linked to all kinds of health outcomes later in life, and Northern Ireland had a period of violence and unrest between Catholics and Protestants that was distributed along geographic lines.

“People who are now old had exposure to stress and disorganization when they were children,” says Crimmins.

“If you lived right where that was happening, you’d have [had] a very stressful existence, but if you lived away from it, you were sort of saved from it.”

Comparisons of these different populations can potentially answer larger questions about health, retirement health care usage, and family involvement, since they follow people from middle age until death.

Crimmins says that ultimately, the goal is to learn from this and see what policies can make people’s lives easier, better and healthier. For example, social support throughout the lifespan — medical, child care, aging and educational support — can have a real impact. “All those things make a difference in terms of the wear and tear on the people as they age,” she says.

Another thing that seems robust in the research: social integration. Loneliness and isolation are known risk factors for faster aging, but Crimmins points out that this doesn’t mean everybody has to have a whole lot of friends. Instead, it means that people have to have the kinds of groups and social support that they need. “It’s pretty clear that being isolated is difficult and can lead to adverse effects,” Crimmins says.

PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN IMPORTANCE OF DATA In order to get accurate snapshots of aging across the globe, researchers need access to high-quality data — and the pandemic has shown how vital it is, says Jessica Ho, demographer and USC Leonard Davis assistant professor of gerontology. Ho wrote an essay published in the journal Population and Development Review showing that many nations still struggle to capture vital registration data for all of their citizens. The pandemic also impacted lifespans across the globe, disproportionately impacting older people.

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International Comparisons Provide New Insights on Aging USC faculty co-edit publication examining impacts of social and economic factors across the life course.

International comparisons of the aging experience offer a unique opportunity to advance understanding of social and economic influences on aging, say USC researchers Jennifer Ailshire and Jinkook Lee, editors of Cross-National Comparisons of Social and Economic Contexts of Aging, a supplement to the June 2021 issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, a flagship publication of the Gerontological Society of America.

The papers presented in the issue examine social and economic factors across the life course from a variety of perspectives. Topics include comparative research on the impacts of early-life socioeconomic position on later-life cognitive functioning, younger-life work trajectories on health at older ages, and the availability of family caregivers on end of life care. Each paper leverages the Gateway to Global Aging Data, a USC-based a platform for population survey data on aging around the world.

The supplement appears both in print and online and will be followed by a series of webinars and discussions to continue conversation and collaboration around facilitating future cross-national analyses.

“Better aging outcomes in one country may provide evidence for the efficacy of the country’s policies and programs for supporting health and aging, while comparative research also can be used to identify social and economic determinants of aging that are common across countries, highlighting important directions in which to focus our efforts to improve health and well-being at older ages,” said Ailshire, associate professor of gerontology and sociology and assistant dean of international programs and global initiatives at the USC Leonard Davis School. — O.B.

By 2050, 1 in 6 people worldwide will be age 65 or older.

Between 2019 and 2050, the percentage of the population made up of older persons is projected t0 at least double in Northern Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

Learn more about the Gateway to Global Aging Data at g2aging.org.

Source: United Nations, 2019

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Statistics play a huge part in shaping public policy, so it is vital that accurate numbers are reported, says Ho. But multiyear lags in data gathering are becoming more common, as is political subterfuge. “Around the world, data are being delayed, distorted and marshaled in support of political agendas precisely because they are so valuable,” Ho says. “Our data-collection systems for births, deaths and migration are too important — too vital, as their name suggests — to be subverted by political interference and underinvestment.”

Her research focuses on life expectancy and health over the course of life across different populations.

While it used to be that researchers considered people 65 and over as an older population, the line is now drawn at 85 in many places, because people are living longer lives. One of the big questions that remains: Is there a limit to life expectancy?

Researchers typically thought 120 years was the top end of a person’s lifespan and that there was no way to live beyond that. However, they’re now having a more nuanced conversation, Ho says, as life expectancy is expected to increase. Also, life expectancy isn’t everything, she says: “It’s great to live a long time, but what we want to know is, as people are living longer, are they also living healthier lives? People want to live completely healthy, cognitively and functional right up to the moment that [they] die, at the oldest possible age.”

In the United States, even before the pandemic hit, life expectancy was falling further and further behind peer nations, Ho says. Our life expectancy is longer than ever before; the reason people in the U.S. we don’t live as long as other people is due to high levels of younger-age mortality. “[People in the U.S.] are not dying from senescence but [from] drug overdose, car accidents, homicide and sometimes diseases related to behaviors like smoking and alcohol [use],” she says. “At some point, demographers thought any society would reduce these deaths to nearly zero. Others have. But we have not.”

PUTTING RESEARCH INTO ACTION Yongjie Yon came to USC with a specific focus in mind: to study elder abuse and prevention of elder mistreatment. He initially wanted to work in forensic psychology, focusing on different crimes against older people, but was drawn into gerontology. Yon earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the USC Leonard Davis School, and he now works at the World Health Organization as a technical officer focused on elder abuse.

Yon’s research shows that while robust prevalence studies are sparse, elder abuse seems to affect 1 in 6

“It’s great to live a long time, but what we want to know is, as people are living longer, are they also living healthier lives?”

— Assistant Professor Jessica Ho

older adults worldwide, which is roughly 141 million people. This is likely to be an underestimation, as only 1 in 24 cases of elder abuse is reported, in part because older people are often afraid to report cases of abuse to family, friends or the authorities. Some research shows that the prevalence has actually increased since the pandemic began in 2020.

In addition, elder abuse is a neglected global public health priority. “Compared to all kinds of interpersonal violence — violence against children or women or youth violence — elder abuse is sort of the least researched and receives the least attention,” says Yon. It’s also a nuanced and complex subject, because by definition it happens within a trust relationship.

Preventing the problem starts with educating the public about what abuse is — whether it’s psychological abuse or physical abuse, such as restraining someone against their will. Other strategies include educating and supporting caregivers. In 2016, the World Health Assembly adopted a global strategy and action plan on aging and health that provides guidance for coordinated action among countries on elder abuse; that work continues today.

Looking at aging from a global perspective means looking for solutions everywhere, Yon says. “If you do research with a national perspective or even a regional perspective, you may be missing out on what the best practices are internationally,” he says. “For the WHO, it is important to have that kind of overview of what is happening around the world.” He adds that countries can also peer into their aging future by learning from other places where the population is older, and taking inspiration from them.

Ultimately, understanding the global landscape of aging will help improve people’s lives in every era — and the recent experience of the pandemic has brought the lessons home for schools such as the Leonard Davis School. “This pandemic reinforces what led us all to gerontology in the first place: a belief that we all can, and should, work together to improve how we live and age,” Dean Cohen says. “Aging is universal, but aging solutions need to be ethnically and geographically personalized.”

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BY JENESSE MILLER

Healthy

Aging in

the Amazon

THE TSIMANE PEOPLE IN BOLIVIA APPEAR TO HAVE HEALTHIER BRAINS THAT AGE MORE SLOWLY.

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"THE TSIMANE HAVE PROVIDED US WITH AN AMAZING NATURAL EXPERIMENT ON THE POTENTIALLY DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF MODERN LIFESTYLES ON OUR HEALTH," SAYS STUDY AUTHOR ANDREI IRIMIA.

A

team of international researchers has found that the indigenous Tsimane people of the Bolivian Amazon experience slower rates of brain atrophy than people in higher-income nations. Accelerated brain volume loss can be a sign of dementia.

Although people in higher-income nations have access to modern medical care, they are more sedentary and eat a diet high in saturated fats. In contrast, the Tsimane have little or no access to health care, but they are extremely physically active and consume a high-fiber diet that includes vegetables, fish and lean meat.

“The Tsimane have provided us with an amazing natural experiment on the potentially detrimental effects of modern lifestyles on our health,” says study author Andrei Irimia, an assistant professor of gerontology, neuroscience and biomedical engineering at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. “These findings suggest that brain atrophy may be slowed substantially by the same lifestyle factors associated with very low risk of heart disease.”

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The researchers enrolled 746 Tsimane adults ages 40 to 94 in their study. To acquire brain scans, they provided transportation for the participants from their remote villages to Trinidad, Bolivia, the closest town with CT scanning equipment. That journey can take as long as two full days, with travel by river and road.

The team used the scans to calculate brain volumes, then examined their association with age for Tsimane people. Next, they compared these results to data from three populations in the U.S. and Europe.

The scientists found that the difference in brain volume between middle age and old age is 70% less among the Tsimane than among American and European populations. This finding suggests that the brains of Tsimane people likely experience far less atrophy with aging than the brains of people in higher-income nations. Atrophy is correlated with a risk of cognitive impairment, functional decline and dementia.

The researchers note that while the Tsimane do have high levels of inflammation, which is typically associated with brain atrophy in industrialized societies, the study suggests that the inflammation does not have a pronounced effect on their brains.

According to the study’s authors, the low cardiovascular risk among the Tsimane may outweigh their infection-driven inflammatory risk, raising new questions about the causes of dementia. One possible reason is that while in American and European populations, inflammation is associated with obesity and metabolic causes, in the Tsimane, it is driven by respiratory, gastrointestinal and parasitic infections. Infectious diseases are the most prominent cause of death among the Tsimane.

“Our sedentary lifestyle and diet rich in sugars and fats may be accelerating the loss of brain tissue with age and making us more vulnerable to diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” says study author Hillard Kaplan, professor of health economics and anthropology at Chapman University, who has studied the Tsimane for nearly two decades. “The Tsimane can serve as a baseline for healthy brain aging.”

The study was published in The Journal of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences in May 2021. Research funding was provided by the National Institute on Aging, the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse and the French National Research Agency.

Healthier hearts and, new research shows, healthier brains The indigenous Tsimane people captured the attention of scientists — and the world — when an earlier study found them to have extraordinarily healthy hearts in older age.

That study, published by The Lancet in 2017 and coauthored

by University Professor Caleb Finch of the USC Leonard Davis School, showed that the Tsimane have the lowest prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis of any population known to science, as well as few cardiovascular disease risk factors. The very low rate of heart disease among the roughly 16,000 Tsimane is likely related to their preindustrial subsistence lifestyle of hunting, gathering, fishing and farming.

“This study demonstrates that the Tsimane stand out not only in terms of heart health, but brain health as well,” Kaplan says. “The findings suggest ample opportunities for interventions to improve brain health, even in populations with high levels of inflammation.”

The Tsimane People Population Approximately 16,000 people living in more than 90 villages in the Bolivian Amazon (Tsimane Health and Life History Project, 2015).

Diet 72% high-fiber plants, including plantains, rice, manioc, corn and fruits; 14% wild game such as monkeys, deer, birds and pigs; and 14% freshwater fish (Gurven et al, 2006).

Family The average Tsimane woman gives birth to nine children in her lifetime; the high fertility rate is potentially due to the immune-suppressing effects of highly prevalent roundworm infection (Blackwell et al, 2015).

Above: Tsimane individuals building a new canoe (top) and crossing the Maniqui River (photos by Ben Trumble).

Previous pages: The Tsimane people have a preindustrial subsistence lifestyle of hunting, gathering, fishing and farming (photos by Ben Trumble and Jonathan Stieglitz).

Activity Their subsistence lifestyle means that most Tsimane adults spend much of the day engaged in light to moderate physical activity, averaging 15,000 to 17,000 steps per day (Kaplan et al, 2017).

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Laborof Love THE PANDEMIC KEPT KIDS HOME FROM SCHOOL AND UPENDED THE WORKPLACE, PLACING AMERICANS WHO CARE FOR AGING FAMILY MEMBERS UNDER EVEN MORE PRESSURE.

By Beth Newcomb Illustrations by Keith Negley Before the COVID-19 pandemic, life was plenty busy for Jason Trujillo and his family.

He and his wife, Sherrie Jong, have two children, who in 2016 were ages 4 and 1. Jong — a civil engineer — was the family’s breadwinner as Trujillo completed his first year at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. As the couple raised their family and juggled work and school, Jong’s parents, Engie and Monty, were getting older; 82-year-old Monty, especially, struggled to see and hear.

When they found out Monty had Alzheimer’s disease, the family knew he needed someone to care for him. That job fell to Trujillo. At first, he resented the stressful and unexpected role. But his mother helped him put things in perspective. “She said, ‘I didn’t raise you to leave an old man that needs help. Take care of this,’” he recalls. “She was 100% right.”

Trujillo paused law school and became his father-inlaw’s main caregiver, making sure Monty saw his doctors, got his medication and stayed connected to the family.

When his condition worsened, Monty moved to an assisted living facility, and Trujillo visited him every day.

Then came COVID-19. Around the world, the pandemic abruptly separated residents of assisted living facilities from their loved ones. Caregivers like Trujillo have faced an increasingly difficult and isolating task as they've tried to offer support from afar while taking care of kids at home. Even with video calls and other technology, staying in touch — especially with people who have dementia and may not understand the situation — has been tough.

The devastating impact on seniors has pushed caregiving to a crisis point. But according to USC researchers, the pandemic isn’t the cause of this societywide problem — it’s only amplifying challenges that have been there all along. And for these experts in aging, it has never been more urgent to address the social, racial and economic inequities behind these issues and pave a way forward.

Now is the time to care for caregivers.

Family Caregivers Remain an Overlooked Community Caregiving is a huge, yet relatively underdiscussed, aspect of society, says Donna Benton, research associate professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

One in 5 Americans provided unpaid assistance with daily living or medical needs to an adult or a child with special needs last year, according to a 2020 National Alliance on Caregiving report. Those 53 million caregivers, nearly 10 million more than reported in 2015, are needed in large part because of the rapidly aging U.S. population.

Raising children while also caring for an older family member puts Trujillo in the “sandwich generation” —

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adults who find themselves between multiple generations in need of caregiving and support. About 12% of all U.S. parents with children under 18 also care for an adult, according to a 2018 report from the Pew Research Center.

It’s a tough balancing act even in the best of times.

Though many cherish the sense of fulfillment and purpose that comes from caring for loved ones, it can lead to physical, mental and financial strain as well. For Trujillo, it meant withdrawing from law school and waiting more than two years before he could start classes again, this time at the University of West Los Angeles.

During the pandemic, many families lost critical support systems as adult day health care centers closed and professional in-home visits stopped. They took over daily errands and other responsibilities for otherwise independent seniors now being urged to stay home.

With these changes, it’s no surprise that caregivers have fared much worse than non-caregivers during the pandemic. They report worse psychological distress and physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, body aches and stomach discomfort, according to a Harvard-led data analysis of USC’s Understanding America Study. In a Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving survey, 83% of caregivers reported that the pandemic has increased their stress. Nearly half said it’s much harder to find other caregivers to help relieve the burden.

Feelings of loneliness and exhaustion are also on the rise among caregivers. One survey noted that 1 of every 5 caregivers reported feeling alone, even if they lived with the person for whom they cared.

COVID-19’s impact has been devastating. It’s also been unevenly distributed. Two months after the first stay-athome order began in Los Angeles, the USC Family Caregiver Support Center checked in with more than 800 client families throughout the county. Latino and Black families were about twice as likely as white families to experience financial strain or difficulties getting adequate resources, including food.

The pandemic has also been particularly hard on women, who make up 61% of the Americans who are caring for someone over 18. Gema Zamarro, an adjunct senior economist with the Center for Economic and Social Research at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, analyzed data from the Understanding America Study and found that women, particularly those without a college degree, have suffered more job losses, taken on more responsibility for child care and experienced much more psychological distress than their male partners.

“We’ve never had a crisis like this that affects child care so drastically,” Zamarro says. With school closures and

ONE IN 5 CAREGIVERS REPORTED FEELING ALONE, EVEN IF THEY LIVED WITH THE PERSON FOR WHOM THEY CARED. virtual learning putting increased pressure on parents, women in the sandwich generation may feel especially pressured to leave the workforce. When coupled with the higher proportion of women who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, she says, it could prove to be a huge setback for gender equality: “Once they are out of the labor force for a while, it’s often very hard for them to come back.”

Connections Count for Older Adults and Caregivers The isolation caused by pandemic lockdowns in senior living facilities is extremely tough for both older adults and their caregivers, says Anne Katz, a clinical professor of social work at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. “People might think, ‘Oh, you placed your loved one in a facility. That’s the end. You can finally have a life,’” she says. “No, they’re constantly thinking about their loved one. There’s often a lot of guilt.”

Trujillo, for one, never wavered in his commitment to helping his father-in-law, even as Monty moved into assisted living. Prior to the pandemic, Trujillo visited daily, making sure Monty showered and ate. He ensured that Monty calmed down after episodes of fear or confusion, had clean clothes and other supplies, and felt updated on everything happening with the family. The visits provided reassurance and a familiar face for his father-in-law.

The family is lucky, Trujillo says, because his wife went to college with Yvonne Kuo, a family care navigator with the USC Family Caregiver Support Center. Kuo and her colleagues connect Los Angeles County residents with information and training, counseling and wellness services, support groups, and legal and financial support. They also offer respite care for loved ones so caregivers can take a break.

After Monty’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the family reached out to Kuo, who helped them research assisted living and memory care facilities. She also enrolled Trujillo in a support group that has offered everything from practical advice to a sympathetic ear during tough times. The support group has been invaluable even as it has gone virtual, he says.

“All of these things have come from people’s experiences that went before me,” Trujillo says. “We’re paying this knowledge forward and we’re helping others.”

During the pandemic, USC’s caregiver support center and similar organizations have made a dramatic pivot, not only bringing their operations online but also helping families connect with emergency resources, find personal

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protective equipment and enroll in delivery services for meals, medications and supplies. Donna Benton, director of the center, says she’s proud of how her staff changed their operations so quickly for the families they serve.

“We were trying to address the need as quickly as we could,” she says. “The USC community really stepped forward to help with the program.”

USC’s efforts to care for caregivers in its neighborhoods include the Community Resource Center for Aging at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. Funded by a grant from the Navigage Foundation, the center opened in October 2020 to connect older adults and their caregivers with a broad array of home- and community-based resources. The center has helped people sign up for meal and medication deliveries, find safe transportation and even learn how to use Zoom and other popular software and technology.

“As a social worker and gerontologist, I’ve never put technology on a care plan the way I have now,” says Program Manager Adria Navarro PhD ’11. “Embracing tech, from telehealth services to food delivery apps, is a necessity in the current situation.”

At USC, the Center for Work and Family Life also has turned to virtual services to help the university’s staff and faculty cope with the pressures of caregiving during the pandemic. The center provides confidential phone and Zoom counseling appointments for USC employees, along with virtual wellness classes and drop-in Zoom support groups for parents.

Program Manager Angela DiBlasi is based on the USC Health Sciences Campus, and her counseling clients include Keck Medicine of USC frontline health care professionals working amid COVID-19. Many struggle with heightened stress and the pandemic’s impact on the health care system. Before vaccines were available, they also had to consider whether to fulfill their family caregiving responsibilities — and risk carrying the virus home — or leave these responsibilities to their loved ones, she says.

DiBlasi often asks her clients to acknowledge that the situation is tough and to focus on what they can control. Try to find creative ways to bring joy, she suggests.

Simple acts like holding physically distanced or drive-by gatherings and sharing thoughtful gifts with isolated loved ones can be mood boosters. She is heartened to see her clients take care of their patients’ physical health while also providing emotional support, like help-

COVID-19 HAS MADE THESE PROBLEMS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE FOR POLICYMAKERS TO IGNORE, SAYS PROFESSOR KATHLEEN WILBER.

ing them make video calls to stay in touch with worried family members who can’t visit.

“These people go over and beyond, and they care so much,” DiBlasi says. “Not only are they putting their health on the line but also making that connection.”

Building Up Caregiver Resources in Los Angeles and Beyond Many experts agree that the pandemic has magnified caregiving-related challenges that have existed for years.

But there is one difference now, says Kathleen Wilber, professor of gerontology and holder of the Mary Pickford Foundation Chair at the USC Leonard Davis School: COVID-19 has made these problems all but impossible for policymakers to ignore.

The gerontology school’s Secure Old Age Laboratory, led by Wilber, provided administrative support for the California Task Force on Family Caregiving, established in 2015 by the state legislature. The task force featured two other USC experts: Benton, who served as chair, and Karen Lincoln, associate professor of social work. The recommendations they published in 2018 bolstered a $30 million increase in funding for caregiver resource centers throughout California. Task force recommendations were also included in the state’s first-ever Master Plan for Aging, a policy blueprint that included recommendations for more aging-oriented housing, health and care programs.

The goal is to help seniors like Monty and caregivers like his son-in-law thrive. As the pandemic went on, Trujillo had to tightly manage his time. Helping his kids with virtual schooling, reading cases for his own classes and checking in with his older in-laws ate up his daylight hours. His law school courses took up the evenings. It was a tough schedule, but he and his wife, who also balanced professional and child care duties, made it work.

Sadly, Monty succumbed to COVID-19 in December 2020, just weeks after his 87th birthday. Trujillo had to keep up his grueling time management even as he grieved: Monty’s passing happened during final exams.

Despite the sadness of his father-in-law’s death, Trujillo says he chooses to focus on the happy memories. He’s also sharing what he learned about caregiving, because too few people know about caregiving until they’re thrust into it themselves. And as he nears the end of law school, he’s preparing to specialize in elder care law.

“I’m going to miss him forever, but it’s OK because I got time with him,” Trujillo says. “There were a lot of things that I didn’t get to do because I was his caregiver, but there are a lot of things that I would have never experienced if I wasn’t.”

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WHAT'S IN A NAM THE GREATEST GE THE SILENT GENE BABY BOOMERS, MILLENNIALS, GE & ALPHA. AG E 94 A ND OLDE R I N 2021

AG E S 76 TO 9 3 I N 2021

AG E S 57 TO 75 I N 2 0 2 1

AG E S 25 TO 40 I N 2021

AG E S 0 TO 8 I N 2021

ME? ENERATION, ERATION, , GEN X, EN Z, T AG E S 41 TO 56 I N 2 0 2 1

“BOOMERS” AND “ZOOMERS” CAN DEFINE AGE GROUPS YET STILL DEFY STEREOTYPES. LABELS PRESENT CHALLENGES TO FIGHTING AGEISM AND PROMOTING INTERGENERATIONAL UNDERSTANDING, SAY USC EXPERTS.

By Lois Albert Angelo

AGE S 9 TO 24 I N 2 0 2 1

he hard-hitting pandemic that welcomed Generation Alpha — those born in 2010 and on — into the world is just one example of the history-defining events that are often used to help differentiate one birth cohort from another. From the military service that defined the Greatest, or GI, Generation to the collapse of the Twin Towers associated with Millennials, each and every age group seemingly has its own historical moment, digital technology, musical phenomenon or cultural qualifier.

Be it boomers, those members of the post–WWII baby boom, or zoomers, the term for the digital natives of Gen Z, why do we need these labels in the first place? The answer, in short, is that the terms make life easier.

For a statistician or an academic, the ability to group individuals by age makes seeing trends and shared characteristics much simpler.

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62 %

75 %

81 %

OF U.S. ADULTS AGE 70 AND OLDER USE SMARTPHONES (AARP, 2020)

OF U.S. ADULTS AGES 50 AND OLDER USE SOCIAL MEDIA ON A REGULAR BASIS (AARP, 2019)

OF AMERICANS AGES 18-29 REPORTED READING A BOOK IN 2018, MORE THAN ANY OLDER GENERATION (PEW RESEARCH CENTER, 2019)

Corporations use this quick and simple means of identification as a way to target certain populations.

Knowing a handful of things about a group of people — say, adults over 50 — means that advertisements or products can be designed to draw in this desired demographic. Knowing that 56 cents of every dollar spent in the United States in 2018 came from someone 50 or older, according to a recent AARP report (which projects that this amount is only expected to increase) is important information for product manufacturers and marketers.

Though they provide a rough picture of a demographic group, social labels — whether they pertain to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age — deemphasize the individuality that makes every person unique and fail to recognize the breadth of individuals in each cohort, cautions Paul Nash, an instructional associate professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. In context, an individual born in the years prior to 9/11 will have once known a completely different experience of air travel, breezing through the airport to board a plane, than someone born post–9/11, who is accustomed only to navigating security measures all the way through. This, too, may differ from cohort to cohort.

“When we group people, we make generalizations that are stereotypes but are not going to be ap-

propriate for everyone in the group, yet the labels still get applied,” says Nash. “When we judge people on group membership rather than on individual characteristics, traits and behaviors, we are doing them a disservice.”

allows for different groups to come to terms with each other outside of their negative perceptions. For instance, a young person who assumes that many older people are unconcerned with climate change would be surprised and delighted to have that stereotype broken.

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GENERATION VS. COHORT Even the term “generational label” has deviated from a historical or age-related categorization to more of a familial designation.

“While we use ‘baby boomer generation’ often, the term was born out of the fact that those born post–WWII were babies in this era,” says Instructional Associate Professor Caroline Cicero. “Now we think of baby boomers in relationship to aging, and generationally as parents and grandparents. People born within a span of years, or who experienced some other milestone event at a common time, are in fact technically a cohort rather than a generation.”

The blurriness of these designations fuels the flames of arguments even within families, where the typical discussion at the dinner table often transforms into a debate between young and old. Too often, people are quick to assume that age determines beliefs or values. Academics like Cicero say it’s important to differentiate between generations and cohorts because, despite the subtle word change, the specificity

DO LABELS FUEL AGEISM? “I think that the media has gradually transformed each label into an insult and stereotype rather than a simple categorization,” says Kaitlyn Yi, a junior majoring in Lifespan Health. “It’s all based on how the media reflects that specific generation, and then it’s a bandwagon effect from there.”

The discourse that has been fostered by this “in-group” and “outgroup” mentality presents challenges to intergenerational unity – think of the “OK boomer” and “Gen X Karen” memes of recent years. And in many cases, it’s understandable to see that younger cohorts and individuals might cultivate a “sense of anger and disillusionment with older groups,” according to Cicero. From the environmental climate change crisis to the fears of economic collapse or wealth inequalities, younger groups may believe they are in a position of vulnerability as they begin to age.

The stereotypes thrown around about for each age group appear to have also contributed to the sense

73 %

56 %

29 %

OF U.S. MILLENNIALS ARE SAVING MONEY; 24% HAVE $100,000 OR MORE IN SAVINGS (BANK OF AMERICA, 2020)

OF AMERICANS AGE 55 AND OLDER ARE WORRIED ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING (GALLUP, 2018)

OF AMERICANS AGES 35-44 IN 2015 WERE THE MOST LIKELY TO VOLUNTEER (U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, 2016)

of powerlessness and generalization.

Older adults may be perceived to be overly traditionalist, wealth-hoarding or frail, and millennials are sometimes seen as entitled and lazy. The issue of labeling affects people of every age. “Personally, I’m conflicted,” says Ryan Doyloo '21, MS in Gerontology student and past president of the Student Gerontology Association.

“On the one hand, there are many generational characteristics that can be attributed to these cohorts that help gerontologists and demographers identify trends. But on the other, I think the issue isn’t the labels but the prejudice fueling them.”

battle ultimately affects all individuals in a society where many people and institutions devalue aging and encourage a biological fight against age and time. Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30,” ads for anti-aging skin products and articles highlighting “age-defying” individuals all play into the defamation of growing old.

“The way to counter [ageism] is to be aware of our stereotyping and our implicit biases,” Nash says. “We can do this by actively engaging with the groups we are referring to, which enables us to challenge some of the assumptions and see the rich depth of the individuals rather than the shallow platitudes provided by stereotyping.”

It’s important to be aware of significant differences across cultures as well. Instructional Assistant Professor Min-Kyoung Rhee notes that the Confucian values of filial piety and respect for older adults have established an expectation in some Southeast and East Asian cultures for young people to show respect for their elders through proper language, including honorifics; gestures such as bowing and hand-kissing; or taking on the major responsibility for the care of their aging parents. However, Rhee also mentions that demographic changes and adoption of Western ideologies have been slowly breaking down these traditional expectations.

“Younger generations are expect-

ing more egalitarian mutual respect, rather than authoritarian respect,” Rhee says. “Thus, it’s becoming more difficult to expect younger generations to respect older adults in traditional ways. While the cultural influence of filial piety still persists in Eastern cultures, the way of showing respect seems to be changing.”

Rhee also agrees with the notion that these cohort labels, while supportive of marketers and business professionals, are responsible for collectivist ideologies. She calls on others to be mindful about adopting those concepts or applying them to other cultures.

“This is particularly so for many older Americans who are foreign-born, whose major external events experienced during their young adult years in their original countries may be significantly different from the older adults who were born and raised in the U.S., even though they’re in the same age category,” Rhee says.

There is also a strong need for intergenerational discussions to reduce age-related tension and build a foundation of respect between each and every cohort.

“It is important for individuals from different generations and cohorts to be able to speak, listen and learn from each other,” says Cicero.

“Intergenerational exchange and dialogue can build understanding and a collective future.”

FIGHTING PREJUDICE, EMBRACING AGING Some people may enjoy the titles given to them, but embracing a title and identifying with a certain stereotype are two completely different ideas.

For instance, an older individual may identify with being a “boomer” but not conform to a younger person’s stereotype of what a boomer is.

Nash emphasizes how society values the notion of youth. The aging narrative continues to be one based on negativity, highlighting physical impairment or sensory loss rather than treating aging as a developmental process. Ageist rhetoric continues to dominate the conversation around getting older, challenging any push toward breaking social stereotypes. This

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Knowledge & Service

Photo: Aaron Wojack

Three students share how their gerontology education empowers them to help older adults become healthier and happier.

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MARIELE SORIANO, MASLH

Hospitality & Home Comforts When Mariele Soriano was a teenager, she moved from the Philippines to Hawaii. To ease the transition, she volunteered at the long-term care facility where her mom worked as a nurse. “Being around the seniors reminded me of my grandparents, who were still in the Philippines,” she says. “I was missing them, so it helped me as well.”

That volunteer work would turn out to be the start of a lifelong career in senior care. Soriano would rise from volunteer to dietary server to nursing home administrator. In 2019, she became executive director of a care community in Santa Rosa, CA. With the baby boom generation in or nearing retirement age, the senior living industry is growing rapidly.

By 2025, the industry will need 1.2 million new employees to support this growing segment of the U.S. population.

At the same time, baby boomers aren’t content with the status quo in their senior living environments. “It’s not just about taking care of the residents anymore. It’s about providing an environment filled with the amenities they expect,” Soriano says.

Leaders like Soriano know that hospitality is the future of senior living. Wanting to be at the forefront, she enrolled in the renowned USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Training leaders in senior living hospitality Soriano is working toward a master of arts in Senior Living Hospitality.

The program combines an understanding of aging and the needs of

older adults with special training in senior living management and hospitality.

For Soriano, the program is enhancing her knowledge and positioning her to be a more effective leader.

She points to a marketing course taught by lecturers Jim Biggs and Joshua Johnson MA '09, both experts in senior living: “I learned about enhancing websites using keywords for search engine optimization (SEO).

This is important so people can find us when they search on Google.”

In addition to marketing and branding, leaders in senior care need to be fluent in many other areas.

The MA in Senior Living Hospitality program is comprehensive, covering legal and regulatory issues, health care and nutrition, and revenue management and finance. Despite her years of experience, Soriano says she learns something new every day.

A master’s degree plus a certificate in hospitality This one-of-a kind program allows students to also earn a certificate in hospitality from Cornell University’s Hotel School. Through Cornell’s executive education unit, eCornell, Soriano takes two-week classes in hotel and restaurant management.

She sees many parallels between her care community and a hotel: “Our front desk [staff] is like a concierge. They help residents get whatever they need. We also have a driver to take residents where they need to go, just like a hotel.”

Based on a recent eCornell class called “Optimizing Restaurant Space

and Pricing,” Soriano is reevaluating her dining room, looking at ways to optimize the seating arrangements and offer options to save money.

Saving money isn’t the only thing on Soriano’s mind; her top priority is the residents. Since becoming executive director, Soriano has implemented an open dining room so residents can eat breakfast whenever they wake up. “We used to tell them they had to get up early so they could eat breakfast,” Soriano says. “Now they can have breakfast at 10 a.m. if they want. It’s all about providing personcentered care.”

The future of senior living Looking ahead, Soriano is focused on meeting the needs of baby boomers.

Her facility will soon include a bistro and a wellness center. She also has ideas for technology upgrades.

While one of the biggest challenges Soriano will face is implementing all the changes she wants to make, she is engaged with her employees and prepared to push through any obstacles she encounters. She also has the vast resources of the USC Leonard Davis School to help her: The program includes courses in leadership and change management, and Soriano’s classmates and professors provide a community she can reach out to for help and support.

After 20 years in senior care, Soriano still loves her work. She wants to make the residents feel special. She says, “This is their home, and we’re the guests. We’re here to help them get where they want to be — not the other way around anymore.”

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Photo: Stephanie Kleinman

KRIS BRANNON, MLTCA

Leveling the Playing Field Kris Brannon won’t let anything or anyone stand in her way. Whether she’s tackling opponents on the football field or taking on big assignments in the classroom, she knows what she wants and works hard to get it.

Brannon’s love of football started when she was a child, playing helmet-to-helmet with her brothers in the backyard. After being placed in foster care and then eventually having her own child, it would be many years before she played again. At age 30, she returned to her football roots and tried out for a women’s tackle football team. With great determination, she made the team and went on to play for eight years. After retiring at age 38, she also spent time as part owner of a Women’s National Football Conference team, the Los Angeles Bobcats.

Brannon now seeks to level the playing field in another arena. She has her sights set on a master of arts in Long-Term Care Administration and plans to open her own long-term care facility to serve low-income Black communities.

Whether challenging the status quo in sports or in the business world — she also owns a tax preparation company — Brannon is poised to make positive changes.

Addressing disparities Brannon’s interest in gerontology started with her grandmother, whom she helped care for and watched decline. Wanting to learn more about caregiving, she received her certified nursing assistant license in 2012.

Since then, she’s worked in home care and in long-term care facilities.

Brannon says, “I have skin in the game. I’ve changed briefs, pureed food and gone through the grit of what it takes to care for someone.”

Between 2016 and 2020, she looked after a woman named Melanie, who inspired her to go back to school. When Brannon met Melanie, the older woman was 89, and she was alone and frail. “I saw the lack of long-term care, adult day care and hospice services for older adults in our Black community,” Brannon says.

“I felt like I needed to change that.”

Searching online, Brannon found the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “I already had experience with older adults,” she says.

“I started from the bottom, and it was time for me to elevate.” In 2020, Brannon finally decided to apply and was accepted.

Training for leadership in long-term care According to longtermcare.gov, individuals ages 65 and up have a nearly 70% chance of eventually needing long-term care services.

The Master of Arts in Long-Term Care Administration program prepares students for leadership roles in supportive senior living environments. USC Leonard Davis students who can step into leadership roles in this field are in high demand.

“This program is preparing me for leadership. The courses that I’ve chosen so far have brought [me] awareness of how to plan, organize, evaluate and brand a

business,” Brannon explains. “I never made those connections before USC. But as I’m taking courses, it just clicks.”

Brannon’s vision is to make sure the seniors she serves are living in an environment designed for them.

She’s looking into options for grants and loans, and she is considering the Atlanta area as a potential location, because she says it has a highly concentrated Black population and lower property costs than L.A. Confidence to pursue “the life I’ve dreamed of” Brannon says, “Of all the schools I’ve been to, I don’t think I’ve had as much support as at USC Leonard Davis. I’ve been able to talk to my professors outside of class and just have regular conversations. They’ve created an environment where I feel very included.”

Brannon credits her professors — especially Instructional Associate Professor Caroline Cicero and Professor Kathleen Wilber — for opening her eyes to things she’d never thought of before, as well as for giving her the courage to think about pursuing a doctorate.

She continues, “When I started, I thought I wasn’t smart enough.

My experience at USC Leonard Davis has given me the confidence to know that I will be successful.”

After tackling so many other challenges in her life, there’s no doubt Brannon can achieve anything she sets her mind to. “This program is going to provide me the life that I’ve dreamed of,” she says.

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Photo: Stephanie Kleinman

VICTOR WILSON, MAG

Fitness for All Ages As a personal trainer and master’s student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Victor Wilson focuses on aging and fitness. He says it’s critical to exercise as you age, because you lose 40% of your strength between the ages of 50 and 80.

In his studio, most of Wilson’s clients are over age 50; his oldest client ever was 95. “We have the same struggles and challenges with getting older,” says Wilson, who is 61. “You can talk about a lot of things with older adults, because they’ve had more life experience.”

Wilson believes the medical profession can do more to help people age in good health: “They are more focused on curing diseases or treating problems than on prevention. In Western medicine, the concept of mind-body wellness is missing.”

With an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master’s in kinesiology, Wilson felt his background could help fill the gap. First, he wanted to learn more about aging and to find a way to be of better service to his older clients. Gerontology seemed like a natural next step. And USC was where he wanted to be.

Mental and physical aging The programs at the USC Leonard Davis School involve all aspects of aging. Professors introduce students to the biological, psychological, sociological, political, medical and business aspects of the lifespan.

In his second semester of the Master of Arts in Gerontology program, Wilson found what he was looking for. He says, “I wanted to get

a handle on how the body changes, both mentally and physically, as we age. I want to be able to prepare my clients for what’s coming.”

A class that has been especially eye-opening for him is “Mind and Body Connection Through the Lifespan.” Wilson says that the class, which is taught by Assistant Professor Paul Nash and part-time lecturer Timothy Lu, focuses on the physical and mental effects of chronic stress.

“Chronic stress can lead to inflammation, which affects every system in your body. It can lead to depression, anxiety, autoimmune diseases, diabetes and osteoporosis,” Wilson says. “I have clients who have these conditions, but I didn’t know stress intensified them.”

Disparities in aging Aging is universal, but not all people experience this process the same way. Like many students at the USC Leonard Davis School, Wilson feels a deep concern about the disparities among older adults.

“Most people can’t afford a personal trainer like me. I’ve always wanted to bring fitness training, especially tai chi, to older adults in low-income communities,” he says.

Tai chi is a moving meditation that reduces stress and anxiety and improves strength and balance. It’s an especially good exercise practice for preventing falls in older adults.

Wilson says, “My goal is to train tai chi instructors so they can go to the community and help people.”

Wilson also sees a need among caregivers, who are more likely to

experience physical, emotional and financial stress. Currently, he has an 84-year-old client whose caregiver and sister are often with her when Wilson visits for training sessions. He includes all three of them during the tai chi portion of the workout, viewing this as a model for expanding the reach of his services and the benefits that tai chi provides.

Putting gerontology into practice The USC Leonard Davis School positions students to solve real-world problems related to aging. For Wilson, that problem is seniors who don’t get enough physical activity, and he is putting what he's learned in the classroom into practice.

“I recently did a policy memo on physical activity guidelines. In doing that, I learned that only one in five adults over 18 is meeting the fitness guidelines. From age 65 to age 74, this drops to 16%. From age 75 and up, only 10% are meeting the guidelines,” he says. “So I’ve been talking to my clients about this, encouraging them to get moving and get their cardio minutes in.”

In the future, Wilson says, he envisions expanding his business and consulting on disease prevention.

The USC Leonard Davis School will give him the credentials he needs.

What Wilson isn't thinking about is retiring. Having grown up in Trinidad and Tobago, he doesn’t understand the concept, and none of his seven siblings who still live there have retired. He says, “Especially in this field, I don’t see why I would.

My work benefits me in every way.”

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Photo: Gus Ruelas

A Commencement Like No Other

40 | VITALITY

This past spring, USC celebrated its 137th and 138th Commencements in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the first time since 1950 that the school has held its commencement in the storied venue. During physically distanced ceremonies held twice daily from May 14 through 20, 2021, more than 36,000 diplomas were conferred to USC graduates in the classes of 2020 and 2021, including more than 400 graduates of the USC Leonard Davis School. Learn more about some of these extraordinary new alumni who earned their degrees during this unprecedented time.

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Ryan Doyloo

Astoria Ho

Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Aging (Health Sciences track), minor in Accounting

Bachelor of Science in Lifespan Health, minor in Computer Programming

— Q. What inspired you to study gerontology at USC? A. I always had a strong connection with my grandfather. When he was diagnosed with cancer, the journey through hospitals in Japan and America opened my eyes to the policies that shape the way we die. His death inspired me to volunteer at adult day cares, look into nonprofits serving older adults, and reevaluate what I wanted to do as a career.

Q. What have been some of your favorite activities?

A. Through my position as Student Gerontology Association president for the past two years, I have felt empowered to change my community and advocate for the ideas that I believe to be important. I also work in the Tucker-Seeley Research Lab and have had a poster presentation at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting, and I’ve been interning at the National Association for Adult Protective Services.

Q. What will you do after graduation?

A. Following a master of science in Gerontology, I hope to attend law school, with the ultimate goal of practicing public interest law. I would love to utilize my degrees in cases that specifically require knowledge about the process of aging or older adults.

42 | VITALITY

— Q. What inspired you to study gerontology at USC? A. In high school, I volunteered as a hospice pet therapist. I brought my pet rabbit to visit older adult hospice patients weekly, and I loved the intergenerational relationships that developed. I picked the USC Leonard Davis School because I wanted to continue to find ways to help older adults.

Q. What have been some of your favorite activities?

A. I worked at ReverCare, an aging-tech startup, with a focus on HCI [Human-Computer Interaction]. As a product and business development intern, I prototyped their first web application that provided a platform for family caregivers to search for and consult with aging care experts. I was also a part of Spark SC, a student organization focused on fostering entrepreneurship on and around campus.

Q. What will you do after graduation?

A. This year, I am working at AARP Innovation Labs and engaging with their portfolio startups. With my expertise in aging and older adults, I am pursuing aging technology with a product design and user experience lens. Next up is a master’s of information management and systems at UC Berkeley to unify my passions for aging and technology.

"I knew being a student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology would catapult me into the field of aging."

"I picked the USC Leonard Davis School because I wanted to continue to find ways to help older adults."

Giovanna Manson-Hing

Carly Roman

Master of Arts in Gerontology

Doctor of Philosophy in Gerontology

—

—

Q. What inspired you to study gerontology at USC? A. I sought a program that specializes in Alzheimer’s and has strong connections with other organizations. I knew being a student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology would catapult me into the field of aging and help me to network with stakeholders who support those affected by Alzheimer’s.

Q. What inspired you to study gerontology at USC? A. I was inspired by the impact that USC gerontology has on the field of aging and the potential to make a positive impact in the lives of more older adults with the training and experience I could gain at USC.

Q. What have been some of your favorite activities?

A. I’ve attended the USC Family Caregiver Support Center Project Reveal Conference, held a graduate student representative position in the Student Gerontology Association, and have been active in the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s, which is the largest youth-led Alzheimer’s nonprofit organization in the nation.

Q. What will you do after graduation?

A. I plan on working with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and the City of Los Angeles Department of Aging with their Healthy Brain Initiatives for L.A. County’s diverse aging population. My goals are to influence brain health, Alzheimer’s and caregiving policies to increase the support for these groups and to increase awareness about the challenges these groups face in order to set up sustainable solutions, funding and benefits by 2030 and beyond.

Q. What have been some of your favorite activities?

A. I co-founded the USC GlamourGals chapter, started the Intergenerational Phone Chain with the Student Gerontology Association during COVID, and was PhD Roundtable Chair. I conducted a “Dear Abby"–style intervention for older adults to give advice to younger members of the community.

I’ve also worked with the Motion Picture & Television Fund to develop and evaluate an entertainment industry career mentorship program and with Cedars-Sinai to develop and evaluate an intergenerational virtual exercise program.

Q. What will you do after graduation?

A. I hope to create innovative, evidencebased programs that support older adults’ well-being and age integration. I want to bridge the gaps between research and practice to ensure that older adults have opportunities to feel valued, be generative and stay socially connected through intergenerational programs.

2020 and 2021 University Honorees USC Renaissance Prize Astoria Ho ’21 USC Renaissance Scholar Distinction Vanessa Ocon ’20 Ryan Doyloo ’21 USC Discovery Scholar Distinction Vanessa Ocon ’20 Sharon Talasazan ’20 Ryan Doyloo ’21 USC Provost’s Award Raelyn Kelley ’21 Emma Josephine Bradley Bovard Award Anjali Devgan MS ’21

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NOTES IN MEMORIAM —

Professor Emerita Phoebe Stone Liebig, celebrated gerontology educator and expert on public policy regarding aging, passed away February 24, 2021, at the age of 87.

“Through her life and her work, Phoebe Liebig’s impact on the USC Leonard Davis School and the field of gerontology cannot be overstated,” said USC Leonard Davis School Dean Pinchas Cohen. “Her research and advocacy around age-friendly policies and the importance of creativity improved the lives of countless older adults, and the example she set as a lifelong learner who pursued her passions and interests leaves a legacy we all should emulate.”

Liebig was born on December 28, 1933, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to mathematician Marshall Harvey Stone and artist Emmy (Portmann) Allen. Liebig studied at Radcliffe College from 1951 to 1954 prior to moving to Los Angeles and enrolling at UCLA, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in 1955 and earned her master’s degree in 1956.

Following graduation, she worked in UCLA’s classics department and taught for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

She married Anthony E. Liebig on June 19, 1954. The couple welcomed a son, Steuart Anthony, in 1956. They were divorced in 1961. Phoebe Liebig was a devoted mother to Steuart, mother-in-law to Leslie Rosdol, and grandmother to Anya Liebig and Aron Liebig.

Her work at USC began after she met her future mentor, Jim Birren, founding director of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center and first dean of the USC Leonard Davis School. In 1971, Liebig became a grants spe-

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cialist for the Andrus Gerontology Center.

After completing her PhD in public administration at USC in 1983, she joined the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology faculty as a research assistant professor.

As a faculty member, Liebig took on numerous leadership roles, including directing the USC Pacific Geriatric Education Center, directing information outreach for the USC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and serving as a co-principal investigator in the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence. In addition to her work at the Leonard Davis School and elsewhere at USC, Liebig spent two years as a senior economics policy analyst for the AARP Public Policy Institute.

Among her many honors, Liebig received two Fulbright Senior Scholar Awards and was named a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. She was also a recipient of the Clark Tibbitts Award, Distinguished Teacher Award, and Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition Award of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and she was an AGHE Fellow.

In 2015, Liebig received the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award during the 34th Annual USC Academic Honors Convocation.

“I was a ‘late bloomer,’ having gotten my PhD

Photo: USC Leonard Davis archives

Remembering Professor Emerita Phoebe Liebig

when I was 50, so although I was in the field of gerontology for many years before that, I had less time to establish a lengthy academic career,” Liebig remarked at the time.

Her pre-retirement research largely focused on public policies and their effects on older adults in communities throughout the U.S. and across the world, including Fulbright-supported study in India. Over the years, she also encouraged her many student mentees to address the effects of public policy in their own research and to take an active role in advocating for evidence-based policies in government, especially at the local and state levels.

After retiring from USC as an associate professor emerita in 2006, Liebig remained a familiar presence at USC and the Leonard Davis School, serving as president of USC’s Retired Faculty Association from 2011 to 2014 and as a member of the USC Emeriti Center Advisory Committee for several years.

In retirement, her research focused on creativity and aging. She continued publishing journal articles and book chapters, as well as presenting at professional meetings on issues such as aging in India, aging in place, nursing home deficiencies, and the humanities and aging. She also served on the editorial boards of The Gerontologist and the Journal of Aging & Social Policy, as well as serving on several committees of the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

In addition to her gerontology work, Liebig was an avid gardener, birdwatcher, and singer; she was especially passionate about Medieval and Renaissance music.

She was a member of the Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble and the Foundation of the Neo-Renaissance, serving as a board member for the foundation from 2001 to 2007.

Colleagues and former students celebrated Liebig as not only a brilliant gerontologist but also a devoted friend and mentor.

Caroline Cicero, an instructional associate professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School, now teaches the same course in which she was once Liebig’s student.

Cicero said: “Phoebe was a brilliant mind; a fantastic mentor and teacher to me and countless others; an aging policy specialist; avid music lover; enthusiastic gardener; creative soul; relentless stickler for grammar, editing and document perfection; visionary thinker; world traveler; faithful gift giver; wellness, healthy eating and health advocate; and wise advice-lender.

“When I, as a new PhD student, suddenly faced cancer and chemotherapy, Phoebe visited me at home often, brought food and gifts to my two small children, and always had sage recommendations about navigating health care, academia and motherhood.”

USC Professor of Architecture and Gerontology Victor Regnier remembered Liebig as funny, outgoing and extremely intelligent.

“Phoebe Liebig was the first person I got to know well when I joined the gerontology center in the late summer of 1971,” Regnier said. “When you became a friend of Phoebe’s, it was for life; you could always expect a birthday and Christmas card. She was like a big sister to me, always pointing out what to pay attention to and what to avoid. … A true friend.” — B.N. In lieu of flowers, Professor Liebig’s family requests that donations be made in support of the USC Phoebe Liebig Endowed Scholarship Fund. Checks can be made out to the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, with “Phoebe Liebig Endowed Scholarship” written on the memo line. For more information, please call (213) 740-1360. Please mail checks to: USC Advancement Gift Services Phoebe Liebig Endowed Scholarship 1150 South Olive Street, 25th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90015

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NOTES

Board of Councilors member Keith Renken (left) and Dean Emeritus Edward Schneider

The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology has a new, robust endowed scholarship to celebrate. The Edward L. Schneider Endowed Scholarship Fund was created earlier this year by several donors and friends of the Leonard Davis School. Last fall, Board of Councilors member and former chair Keith Renken thought it would be fitting for USC Leonard Davis students, who have recognized Dean Emeritus Ed Schneider for his excellence in teaching with numerous awards, to receive support from a scholarship in his name. Toward that end, Renken issued a $50,000 challenge grant, with the goal of raising a minimum of $100,000. The scholarship fund now exceeds $250,000 in pledges and cash.

“Many know how special a person Ed is, and he is equally treasured by his students,” Renken said. “I can’t think of a better way to create a lasting legacy for Ed with respect to his popularity with students than to create an endowed scholarship in his name that will live on in perpetuity. I am thrilled that the collective generosity of so many will enable generations of Leonard Davis School students to benefit from their support.”

Friends of the Leonard Davis School and Edward Schneider — among them Keith Renken, Mary Lou Dauray and Alan Davis, Judy and Tom Flesh, Mercedes and Bentley

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Kerr, Renee and Meyer Luskin, Dick Oxford, and Shari and Bob Thorell — joined with foundations and companies such as the Annenberg Foundation, Mountainview Packaging, and UniHealth Foundation to endow the Schneider Scholarship Fund.

“I am so pleased that our school has scholarship funds for students who want to come to the best gerontology program on the planet,” Schneider said. “Moreover, I am very grateful to Keith and all of the other donors who made this scholarship in my name possible — it is a great honor!”

Pinchas Cohen, dean of the USC Leonard Davis School, said, “The Edward Schneider Scholarship is a wonderful tribute to my predecessor and friend, and I am grateful for all of the support from so many.”

Gifts to the USC Leonard Davis School’s endowed scholarship funds ensure in perpetuity that our remarkable students will have the resources and scholarships they require to excel. Named scholarship funds leave a lasting legacy for donors and have a permanent impact on the lives of generations of students who receive this generous support.

To learn more about creating an endowed scholarship in your name or to contribute to the Schneider Scholarship, please contact David Eshaghpour, Senior Associate Dean for Advancement, at (213) 740-1360. — D.E.

Photo: Steve Cohn

Friends of Edward Schneider Endow New Scholarship Fund

Two Health Food Industry Pioneers Support Research on How Diet & Nutrition Affect Alzheimer’s

Photos: Stephanie Kleinman

“We are now very proud and excited to work with the USC Leonard Davis School, which is world-renowned for its efforts to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, particularly for those who carry the ApoE4 gene.”

Daryl and Irwin Simon, founders of the largest natural organic food company, have established a new research fund at the USC Leonard Davis School. The USC Daryl and Irwin Simon Nutrition for Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Research Fund was created to explore the role diet can play in the prevention or delay of Alzheimer’s disease.

Previous research by USC Leonard Davis Professor Christian Pike found that a diet high in cholesterol, fat and sugar may be associated with a greater incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in people who carry the ApoE4 gene. In addition, USC Leonard Davis Professor Valter Longo is a leader in advancing research on dietary interventions to reduce risk factors for age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s and related dementias. USC Leonard Davis Research Assistant Professor Kelvin Yen identified novel mitochondrial hormones, such as humanin, that respond to healthy diets and promote neuroprotection.

“We are thrilled to have early adopters and leaders in the health food industry support new research in this important area,” said Dean Pinchas Cohen. “It is appropriate that the couple that helped mainstream health food in major markets would help us advance the science of nutrition and disease prevention research at the USC Leonard Davis School.”

“My husband, Irwin, and I have dedicated nearly 30 years of our lives to educating people around the world on the importance of eating a healthier diet, particularly focusing on natural and organic foods and ingredients,” said Board of Councilors member and USC Leonard Davis School benefactor Daryl Simon. “We are now very proud and excited to work with the USC Leonard Davis School, which is world-renowned for its efforts to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, particularly for those who carry the ApoE4 gene.”

Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the costliest and deadliest diseases of aging. An estimated 5.4 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s, which costs a staggering estimated $286 billion a year.

Additionally, research collaborators at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics predict that the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. will more than double in the next 35 years, to 9.1 million, with total care costs in excess of $1.5 trillion.

USC Leonard Davis researchers will be able to submit grant proposals for funding from the research fund over several grant cycle competitions. These seed grants are designed to fund the collection of pilot data that can lead to larger, more established funding sources, such as National Institutes of Health grants. The first awardees are Research Assistant Professors Sebastian Brandhorst, Amy Christensen and Kelvin Yen, who teamed up for a joint project. — D.E.

(From top) Research Assistant Professors Sebastian Brandhorst, Amy Christensen and Kelvin Yen, inaugural USC Daryl and Irwin Simon Nutrition for Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Research Fund grant recipients

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NOTES

Research Assistant Professors T. Em Arpawong (top) and Sebastian Brandhorst, 2021 Hanson-Thorell Family Research Award recipients

48 | VITALITY

Can exercise preserve brain health? Can a fasting diet heal heart damage? Two new studies aim to answer these questions.

As recipients of the 2021 Hanson-Thorell Family Research Awards, Research Assistant Professors T. Em Arpawong and Sebastian Brandhorst will each receive $25,000 in funding for one-year pilot projects exploring the benefits of these lifestyle factors.

Arpawong will investigate whether cumulative exercise, from adolescence through older age, can preserve cognitive function, and if so whether it does this by helping slow the pace of aging through epigenetic modification to change gene expression and protect and preserve brain health. Her findings will help inform public health recommendations to support healthy aging.

Brandhorst will examine whether fasting-mimicking diets can improve recovery after a heart attack, or myocardial infarction, in mice. He plans to use results from his study as the basis for a National Institutes of Health application for a grant to evaluate the use of fasting-mimicking diets in existing heart attack management strategies, with the goal being to translate the findings into clinical trials.

The Hanson-Thorell Family Research Awards support junior USC Leonard Davis School faculty members as they explore new avenues of research, providing a foundation that leads to further grant support for their work. Supported in part by USC Leonard Davis Board of Councilors Chair Shari Thorell and her husband, Bob, the awards originated with funding from Shari’s father, former Board of Councilors Chair Al Hanson. — O.B.

Photos: Stephanie Kleinman

Hanson-Thorell Family Research Awards Support New Studies on Diet & Exercise

Gift Supports Senior Living Students “As an alum of the USC Leonard Davis School, I have every confidence that the school’s current students will become the future innovators we need.”

Illustration: SurfUpVector/iStockphoto

— Rick Matros MSG ’77, USC Leonard Davis Board of Councilors member; chair, president and chief executive officer of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.

A trio of senior living executives with ties to the USC Leonard Davis School recently made gifts to support students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Senior Living Hospitality program. Donations from Board of Councilors members Rick Matros MSG ’77 and Andy Lebowitz MBA ’03 and former Board of Councilors member Steve Lebowitz ’62, MBA ’65 helped to provide scholarship support for students pursuing this first-of-its-kind educational offering designed to prepare senior living professionals to address a growing population and changing consumer demands.

Launched in the spring of 2020, the program incorporates hospitality instruction and addresses topics that include managerial functions, nutrition, health and social engagement within a gerontological framework. Students have the option of attending the 46-unit program on campus or online. In a unique cross-university collaboration, the program includes several courses from eCornell’s hospitality certificate programs authored by leading faculty from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Senior living industry researchers estimate that the industry needs to attract 1.2 million employees over the next 10 years in order to help care for the country’s aging population.

“Providing student support for specialized training programs offers a way to ensure that future senior living industry leaders have the training and expertise to meet the challenges and opportunities of this changing industry,” said Matros, who is chair, president and chief executive officer of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. “As an alum of the USC Leonard Davis School, I have every confidence that the school’s current students will become the future innovators we need.” — O.B.

(Clockwise from lower left) Board of Councilors members Andy Lebowitz and Rick Matros and former Board of Councilors member Steve Lebowitz

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PhD student Qiao Wu and Fengxue Zhou MSG ’20 got engaged on campus in June 2020 (below) and married the following September.

The couple, who met in China and applied to USC together, call the USC Leonard Davis School their “home and family” in the U.S. “We are looking forward to experiencing everything in our life together,” Wu says. “We believe that aging can be a positive experience, and growing older together is sweet.”

Photo: courtesy Qiao Wu & Fengxue Zhou

GROW OLD WITH ME

13 | VITALITY

The Dean’s Circle When you donate to the USC Leonard Davis School, you partner with us in the pursuit of excellence. Your support allows students to explore and engage further in their studies, advances our work to provide outreach and advocacy for older adults, and helps provide faculty scientists the best resources to conduct groundbreaking research. Please show your commitment to our students and mission by making a gift of $500 or

more to the USC Leonard Davis School, and join the Dean’s Circle today.

Photo: Stephanie Kleinman

THANK YOU AND FIGHT ON!

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