Coast-to-Coast Search for Aging Experts
Photo/Jackie Reed
Crisscrossing from coast to coast and throughout the state, they visited medical schools, hospitals, legal offices, state government sites, nonprofits, grant-making foundations, elder care centers and even a television network featuring programming devoted exclusively to elders.
“Gero 589 is an introduction to the diverse career possibilities in human development,” said Schneider, professor of gerontology, biology, medicine, demographics and health care. “The filmed interviews will be used to supplement instruction on a different gerontology-themed career path each week.”
The course also offers a colloquium series open to all USC students featuring leaders from around the nation.
Such diversity in employment, explained Assistant Dean Maria Henke, results from the interdisciplinary nature of gerontology, which combines biology, psychology, public policy and sociology at its core.
“Every professor at the Davis School has a joint appointment in gerontology and some other field,” she said. “We have neuroscientists, biologists, psychologists, public policy experts, sociologists and demographers.”
The interaction of these disciplines in relation to aging, Henke said, is the realm of gerontology.
Kali Peterson was one of the more recent USC Davis School graduates interviewed. In 2005, she earned dual master’s degrees in gerontology (MSG) and public health (MPH). Currently employed as a program manager with the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, she urged students to pursue a career in human development.
“To age is part of life’s journey; to be in a field that intersects with all humanity is a professional and personal opportunity one would be wise not to pass up,” she said.
Also interviewed was medical student Nick Greco, who earned a Bachelor of Science in gerontology in 2002 and completed the accelerated Master of Science in gerontology in 2003.
“As I look to the future at all the challenges and opportunities we will face as a society, it is clear that I will continue to benefit from my time spent and educational experiences received at the Davis School,” Greco said. “After five years, I was well-prepared to set out on my road to becoming a physician.”
With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Auen Foundation, Schneider’s staff conducted more than 50 interviews. Others included notable alums Fernando Torres-Gil, former commissioner of the Administration on Aging, and Peter Braun, former executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association. Both will discuss their professional experiences as part of the colloquium.
“Most impressive was how far many of the graduates have come in such a short time,” Schneider said. “The opportunities in gerontology today are so much greater than in the past.”
Gero 589’s weekly course themes include home health care for elders, advocacy organizations related to gerontology, federal programs on aging and geriatric medicine.
Colloquium lectures will be held in the newly designed smart classroom, room 230 of the Andrus Center, and broadcast live on the Web to accommodate students enrolled online.
“Our goal is for 589 to reach the largest possible audience,” Henke said. “The more people know about the exciting opportunities that await them in the field of gerontology the better.”
Schedule of Speakers:
Week 1 (Friday, Aug. 31) NONPROFIT LONG TERM CARE (In-Class Interviewee: Arnie Posack, Jewish Home of Los Angeles)
Week 2 (Friday, Sept. 7) NONPROFIT LONG TERM CARE (In-Class Interviewee: Greg Bearce, Southern California Presbyterian Homes)
Week 3 (Friday, Sept. 14 ) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ON AGING (In-Class Interviewee: Laura Trejo, Manager, Department of Aging, City of Los Angeles)
Week 4 (Friday, Sept. 21) GERONTOLOGISTS IN THE WORKFORCE (In-Class Interviewees: Jay Westbrook, Kali Peterson)
Week 5 (Friday, Sept. 28) FOR-PROFIT LONG-TERM CARE (In-Class Interviewees: Michael Turgon, Rachel C. Bennett, Sharon Gincheansky, and Alex McNeal, Country Villa Health care Management)
Week 6 (Friday, Oct. 5) FOR PROFIT LONG-TERM CARE (In-Class Interviewee: Mariette Salama, Country Villa Health Care Administrators)
Week 7 (Friday, Oct. 12 ) HOME HEALTH CARE (In-Class Interviewe: Larissa A. Stepanians, Home Health Care)
Week 8 (Friday, Oct. 19) THE GERIATRIC TEAM: Geriatric Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistants (In-Class Interviewee: Diana Schneider)
Week 9 (Friday, Oct. 26 ) FOUNDATIONS THAT SUPPORT GERONTOLOGY (Raymond Reisler, The Mark Taper Foundation)
Week 10 (Friday, Nov. 2 ) FEDERAL PROGRAMS ON AGING (In-Class Interviewee: Fernando Torres-Gil, former commissioner, Administration on Aging)
Week 11 (Friday, Nov. 9 ) ALZHEIMER ASSOCIATION (In-Class Interviewee: Peter Braun, Alzheimer Association)
Week 12 (Friday, Nov. 16) USC DAVIS SCHOOL OF GERONTOLOGY FACULTY (In-Class Interviewee: Faculty members to be announced)
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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
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