Science of Successful Aging Summit Features Research Advances

World-renowned experts in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia shared presentations around these four topics at the April 2017 event:

• Epidemiology and Demography of Aging and Dementia
• Biology of Aging and Neurobiology of Dementia
• Frontiers in Dementia Diagnosis, Therapeutics and Preventive Health
• Regenerative Medicine, Aging and Dementia

“The summit brought together local, national and international scientists for a collaborative, cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas focused on aging research,” says Sanjay Asthana, MD, SMPH associate dean for gerontology, Duncan G. and Lottie H. Ballantine Chair in Geriatrics, and professor and head of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology. “We hope this event will result in collaboration and further the research needed to improve the health and well-being of our aging population here in Wisconsin and beyond.”

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which Asthana directs, hosted a poster session at the event, attracting 29 entries from across campus. Poster winners were:

• Priya Balasubramanian, PhD, postdoctoral research associate, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology
• Nicole Cummings, trainee, Biology of Aging and Age-Related Disease T32 training grant
• Kathleen Miller, graduate student, Department of Kinesiology

In early 2015, UW–Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and SMPH Dean Robert Golden, MD, identified healthy aging as one of the top institutional priorities and set a goal to synergize gerontology research and training across the university. In an effort to meet those aims, the SMPH and Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology will host the Science of Successful Aging Summit every other year, with a different focus each time.