Members and Associate Members hold faculty or senior research appointments at a university or health care facility and demonstrate academic excellence in gerontology or health research in general (e.g., multiple publications, substantial external grants)
Research Interests: Pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of drugs/natural products in older adults
Clinical Interests: Clinical efficacy of flax seed lignans in cardiovascular disease risk factors; drug pharmacokinetics in older adults
Research Interests: Anxiety disorders and chronic pain in seniors
Cluster Leader: Musculoskeletal Health and Mobility
Research Interests: Use of proprioceptive feedback to control joint interaction torques in multijoint movement, adaptation of neuromuscular control mechanisms to microgravity environments, role of proprioceptive feedback in maintaining joint stability, role of central pattern generators in cyclic upper limb movements, applications of non-linear dynamics systems to the neural control of movement, the impact of deficient proprioception on joint stability and postural control mechanisms in the aging population, the impact of deficient postural control on gait and obstacle avoidance in patients with Parkinson’s disease and the effect of age and osteoarthritis on knee proprioception.
Clinical Interests: improved neuromuscular control through increased physical activity for elderly subjects, rehabilitation programs for patients with shoulder instability.
Clinical and Research Interests: The brain especially maintaining and even improving brain health for “normal” aging and in specific populations such as those with Parkinson’s Disease, and those who have had cardiac events, such as heart attacks.
Sleep and brain health/maintenance and recovery.
Cluster Leader: Biological Basis of Age-Related Brain Disorders
Research Interests: Dr. Buttigieg’s area of interest is centered on better understanding the pathophysiology associated with diseases such as dementia (e.g. Alzheimer’s), autoimmune diseases (e.g. Multiple Sclerosis), and injury (e.g. stroke or spinal cord injury). Using pharmacological interventions, the aim of Dr. Buttigieg’s research is to mitigate the severity of damage to the CNS. However, once injury has occurred, to use stem cell intervention to reduce or reverse injury and tissue damage.
Research Interests: Exercise, Nutrition, and Aging
Research Interests: Physical activity, nutrition, aging, osteoporosis, bone health, muscle health, sarcopenia, metabolic syndrome, diabetes
Research Interests: Attention; cardiac rehabilitation; executive functioning; physical activity.
Clinical Interests: Psychological performance in sport and exercise, goal setting.
Research Interests: Determinants of health in older adults; managing symptoms of AD; health services in rural and remote areas; support for informal caregivers
Clinical Interests: Home Care
Research Interests: Corrections, jails, and prisons; prison and aging; complex needs in correctional health care; nexus between corrections and community services; natural death in corrections; palliative and end-of-life care in prisons; formerly incarcerated older adults’ experiences.
Research Interests: Health psychology, older adults, pain, family health
Research Interests: Patient/Physician communication, public education on death and dying, chronic pain in the elderly.
Clinical Interests: Palliative care and chronic pain.
Research Interests:
At the ARC Research Unit, we aim to improve the well-being of individuals who are aging with acute illness, chronic disease, and/or serious mental illness with a focus on people living with dementia and/or residing in long-term care homes. Some of our current projects include the following: (1) acceptance and commitment therapy for caregivers of long-term care residents; (2) loneliness and social isolation among people living with dementia; (3) long-term care residents living with serious mental illness; and (4) time perception and temporalities among people living with dementia.
Research Interests: Leisure and aging, leisure and chronic conditions, leisure and dementia, the lived experience of dementia, leisure and retirement, Therapeutic Recreation in Long-Term Care, and qualitative methodologies.
Cluster Leader: Aging and Women’s Health
Research Interests: The role of ovarian hormones in the etiology of perimenopausal depression, cardiovascular effects of perimenopausal hormone changes, mechanisms linking hot flashes and increased cardiovascular disease risk
Research Interests: clinical neuropsychology, ethics in professional practice, theories in cognitive development
Research Interests: Health anxiety assessment and treatment, pain assessment and treatment, patient-provider relationships, health services research, quality of care, continuity of care, integrated care pathways and guidelines, client satisfaction, waiting lists.
Clinical Interests: Adult psychological assessment and treatment, in particular, depression, anxiety, chronic pain.
Cluster Leader: Pain in Old Age
Research Interests: Pain assessment, dementia, gerontology, ethics and standards of professional practice, clinical psychology, and health psychology.
Clinical Interests: Adult Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Adult Psychological Assessment.
Research Interests: Medical ethics, religion and society, world religions and ethics
Research Interests: Disability, personhood, and social inclusion; relationships among long-term care residents, family caregivers, staff, and organizational leaders; family communication and care in long-term care settings; quality of life in long-term care; strengthening a palliative approach in long-term care; mental health support in long-term care
We will present results of our Healthy Seniors Pilot Project on Thurs, June 26, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and discuss how different stakeholders can work together to help ensure older adults get adequate immunization coverage. Registration link: https://ow.ly/lSnP50Wala7 @GovCanHealth
Congratulations to the CLSA Catalyst Grant recipients!
Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/yh4axrue
Nominations are now open for the 2025 Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging!
Recognizing outstanding KM efforts that have made a difference in the lives of older adults at the local or regional level.
Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/2naxxdt8
#KnowledgeMobilization
📅Mark your calendars! Join us on June 24 for a webinar on exploring what #accessibility means in the context of #AgeTech. Learn about the intersecting barriers that contribute to digital exclusion & strategies to improve accessibility. Register today: https://shorturl.at/cqscR
The CAH congratulates Dr. V. Puplampu (Faculty of Nursing) and her international team on their remarkable research and success as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging Planning and Dissemination Grant recipient.
The team working on the project "Older Adults’ Experience of Vulnerability and Inequity in Recovering from the Pandemic’ were hosted by Dr. Puplampu on the U of R campus in May 2025.
We studied the impact of ageism and pain on pandemic stress among older adults. Our findings suggest that both ageism and pain influence pandemic-related stress, although ageism mediated pain's impact on pandemic stress. @UofRAgingCentre @gjgasmundson