Optimal Aging Colloquium Series

The newly founded Marymount Center for Optimal Aging (MCOA) serves as a central hub for research, education, practice, advocacy, and leadership. MCOA fosters innovative academic-community partnerships by connecting interdisciplinary teams of scientists, professionals, trainees, students, and stakeholders to properly address the needs and quality of life of older adults.

One mechanism to support the MCOA mission is our new Virtual Colloquium Series. The specific goals of the Virtual Colloquium are to:

  • Bring innovative leaders, researchers, and speakers from the field of optimal aging to Marymount University to share their expertise and experience with a broad community of individuals invested in optimal aging.
  • Facilitate networking and collaborative opportunities among participants of the Virtual Colloquium series, to result in new partnerships for research, education, and advocacy/service activities for optimal aging.
  • Inspire new and expanded initiatives for research in optimal aging for all attendees.

The MCOA Virtual Colloquium will be a regular event. Speaker announcements will be posted one month prior to the event and registration is required.

Upcoming Colloquiums

There are no upcoming events.

Previous Colloquiums 

Addressing Falls through Community-Academic Partnerships

In this colloquium, our speakers, Dr. Cathy Elrod and Dr. Sara Pappa shared key project elements and lessons they learned from the development of a collaboration between Marymount University and community-based senior-focused organizations to adopt and implement three evidence-based falls prevention programs, Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL), a Matter of Balance (MOB), and the Otago Exercise Program, in an area where none previously existed.
Click here to watch the full presentation.

The Challenges of the Stigma of Alzheimer’s Disease and How it Delays Early Detection and Diagnosis

In this colloquium, Dr. Donna de Levante Raphael, a Gerontologist and the Director of the National Memory Screening Program at the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America presented her current research on the stigma of Alzheimer’s disease and how it creates barriers to early detection and diagnosis.
Click here to watch the full presentation.

Community-engaged research to advance healthy aging for Latino populations

Dr. Erica Diminich is a 2019 National Institute on Aging (NIA) Butler Williams Scholar and NIA Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (AD-RCMAR) Research Scientist. She presented her research on how chronic stress intersects with emotional responses and social, cultural, and contextual factors to influence health throughout the life course among Latinos.
Click here to watch the full presentation.