Associates and Collaborators
J Taylor Harden, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN
Distinguished Visiting Scholar Scientist and Mentor, Marymount University Center for Optimal Aging,
Visiting Professor & Distinguished Alumni, School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin,
Executive Director Emeritus of the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence
Email: jtaylorharden@gmail.com
J Taylor Harden, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, a gerontologist, nurse, teacher, author, and public servant has broad research interests in minority health, health disparities research with relevance in Alzheimer’s Disease, the recruitment and retention of older women and minorities in clinical studies, as well as the recruitment and retention of a competent STEMM workforce. Dr. Harden is Visiting Professor & Distinguished Alumni at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing, Executive Director Emeritus of the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, incorporated as an independent 501(c)3 organization after 16 years and over 8 million dollars as a John A. Hartford-funded grant initiative. Dr. Harden served as a tenured associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and was the first and only faculty member to participate in the competitive NIH Extramural Associates Research (EARDA) Program. The program was established to produce a cadre of academic research administrators and leaders to promote the participation of institutions with high ethnic minority student enrollments in rigorous biomedical and behavioral research programs. Following tenure at the UTHSCSA and prior to the Gerontological Society of America, Dr. Harden was a senior scientist and administrator at the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute of Nursing Research and the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Initiative at the American Academy of Nursing. She has served as Acting Deputy Director, NIA, Adjunct Faculty at New York University, Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and Gerontological Society of America, Dr. Harden earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, where she was honored as a Distinguished Alumna in 2021. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in nursing, where she was honored as a Distinguished Alumna in 2010.
Pallavi Sood PT, PhD
MCOA Associated Research Fellow
Center for Optimal Aging, Marymount University
Email: palavi.sood@gmail.com
Dr. Pallavi Sood is a clinical research scientist with academic training in health outcomes in older adults with physical and cognitive impairments. Dr. Sood received her bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy from Kurukshetra University, India, before moving to the U.S. to pursue an M.S. in Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her prosthetics residency at Comprehensive Prosthetics and Orthotics, Peoria, IL, and worked as a prosthetist for a year before moving to Florida to pursue her Ph.D. Her doctoral research focused on developing and validating health outcomes using advanced measurement techniques such as IRT, and Rasch modeling. Her postdoc training focused on using multimodal imaging (fNIRS, EEG, and fMRI) of brain activity to investigate walking and mobility decline in older adults with cognitive and functional impairments. Additionally, she has a graduate certification in Gerontology, Aging, and Geriatric Practice, and Introduction to Clinical/ Transitional Research from UF. Dr. Sood’s research interests include clinical outcomes and methodology in the field of rehabilitation sciences, assistive technology, and outcomes among older adults with physical and cognitive impairments. She is interested in exploring cognitive and functional outcomes for older adults with cognitive impairments such as MCI and Dementia using multimodal imaging techniques such as fNIRS, EEG, and fMRI. Dr. Sood’s research goal is to understand the current gaps in healthcare practices and find innovative solutions to improve patient-centered outcomes with the end goal of improving patient care and enhancing patient engagement, independence & quality of life.
Click here to view Dr. Pallavi Sood’s publications.
