Congratulations to PhD Candidate Matt Lohman, who received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award fellowship. The title of Matt’s research is “Frailty and depression: A latent trait analysis”. Matt’s award, from the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, will support his research for the next two years. The study focuses on the evidence that suggests that geriatric conditions such as frailty may signal elevated vulnerability to adverse health outcomes like falls and hospitalization. Matt will look at achieving a better understanding of frailty and how it is related to depression. His project aims to guide clinicians and researchers toward a more accurate definition and identification of frailty, and timely intervention to prevent adverse health events among older adults. Click here to read the VCU news feature.

Dr. Moon Choi, Ph.D. from Lexington, Kentucky credits her mentors with making all the difference in the world for her career. She had three key mentors who have walked with her throughout her journey, including Dr. Briana Mezuk of the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health. Click here to read her member spotlight from the Gerontological Society of America.

WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station published an article entitle “Urban Debate Teams Motivate At-Risk Students to Succeed” highlighting the research of Dr. Briana Mezuk on the impact of participating in a policy debate program on academic achievement in the Greater Chicago area.

Click here to read the article. Click here to read the research paper.

Lauren Kelley (pictured) gave a poster presentation on her research, titled “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Subsequent Alcohol Use and Misuse.”

Elizabeth Do presented a poster titled “Gestational Age at Birth is Associated with Alcohol Use in Female Young Adults,” and Kristen Rice presented her poster, “Long-Term Care and Offspring Mental Health: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.”

Kristen Rice and Dr. Briana Mezuk

Matt Lohman

 

Dr. Mezuk, doctoral student Matt Lohman, and MPH student Kristen Rice presented research at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Mezuk participated in a session on “Frailty and Depression in Late Life: Phenomenology, Prognosis, and Pathophysiology.” Matt Lohman presented a poster titled “Depression and Frailty in Late Life: Evidence for a Common Vulnerability.” Kristen Rice presented a poster titled “Long-Term Care and Offspring Mental Health: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.”

Julia Foutz	Ashlee Moore
Natalie Bareis	Dr. Mezuk supporting the presenters

 

Doctoral student, Natalie Bareis, and graduate students, Julia Foutz and Ashlee Moore, presented their research at the American PsychoPathological Association annual conference. The conference took place March 6-8, 2014, in New York, NY.

Natalie presented a poster on her latest research, “Depression, anxiety, and telomere length: Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.” Natalie’s co-authors on the abstract are Dr. Belinda Needham, Dr. Briana Mezuk, and Dr. Elissa Epel.

Julia presented her poster titled “Advanced paternal age and risk of psychotic like symptoms in offspring.” Ashlee presented her poster titled “Exploring Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy of Conduct Disorder: An Epidemiological Study of Childhood Predictors and Adult Outcomes of ‘Life Course Persistent’ and ‘Adolescence Limited’ Group Membership.”

 

Dr. Concha’s paper, “Stress and coping among African Americans at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus: A conceptual application for the Environmental Affordance Model using preliminary findings from the Stress and Sugar Study,” has been accepted for presentation at the 14th International Conference on Social Stress Research. The conference will be held in Vancouver, B.C. from June 7-9th. Congratulations, Dr. Concha!

GREMAP team members, Julia Foutz, Kristen Rice, and Dr. Mezuk, contributed to the research, along with Dr. Tiffany Green, Assistant Professor in the VCU, School of Medicine, Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, and Dr. Paul Perrin, Assistant Professor in the VCU Department of Psychology.

Dr. Mezuk, Dr. Cohen, and doctoral student Matt Lohman represented GREMAP at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Mezuk chaired a symposium on Suicide Risk Among Older Adults and presented on “Suicide Risk in Senior Living Communities: Evidence from the Virginia Violent Death Reporting System.”

Dr. Cohen gave two scientific presentations: “Preventative health behaviors and overall health in the Alaskan senior population: Evidence from a National Survey” and “Socioeconomic and Demographic Moderators of Informal Caregiving and Health in the ‘Sandwich Generation’: Evidence from a National Survey.”

Matt Lohman gave a poster presentation titled “Suicide in Long-term Care: A Qualitative Review of Narratives from the Virginia Violent Death Reporting System.”