National aging experts at St. Scholastica July 12-19

Nationally known experts in aging research are at The College of St. Scholastica July 12-19 for the sixth annual Institute on Aging and Social Work.

The program provides advanced training in aging research to 15 social work faculty. Participants are given the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills in research methodology. Distinguished visiting professors and National Institute on Aging (NIA) staff will be present to share their expertise. Participants are given the chance to work with colleagues from other institutions to create and develop a research proposal, which will be submitted to NIA/NIH and other agencies.

Social work faculty who participated in last year's institute will present their research findings during the second part of the Institute which begins on Saturday, July 18. Topics include:

--"Life Satisfaction of Older African Americans Who Mentor At-Risk Youth"
--"Psychosocial Group Intervention for Depression in Older, African American Breast Cancer Survivors"
--"Transformative, Multidisciplinary, Longitudinal and Lifespan Development Approaches to the Study of Tourette Syndrome"
--"Knowledge, Barriers and Motivators Related to Treatment of Problem Gambling Among Older Women"

Past participants have given outstanding reviews to the Institute. They found that the Institute provided them with opportunity to know the professionals and NIA staff and their colleagues, which aided in their learning. Also, participants improved their knowledge of research methodology, became aware of grant opportunities available at the NIA and learned how to prepare a successful grant.

Presenters include:

--Dr. Robin Barr, director, Office of Extramural Research, National Institute on Aging
--Dr. Barbara Berkman, professor, heath and mental health, Columbia University School of Social Work
--Dr. Susan Hughes, professor, community health sciences, Institute for Health and Research Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago
--Dr. Jan Greenberg, professor, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison
--Dr. Chandra Mehrotra, professor of psychology, The College of St. Scholastica
--Janet Rosen, associate vice president for Institutional Advancement, The College of St. Scholastica
--Dr. Marsha Seltzer, director, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
--Dr. Sidney M. Stahl, chief, Individual Behavioral Processes Branch, Behavioral and Social Research Program, National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health
--Dr. Aloen Townsend, associate professor of social work, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University
--Dr. Keith Whitfield, research professor of psychology and neuroscience, Duke University

Funding for the Institute is provided by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Hartford Faculty Scholars Program in Social Work which is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and is administered by the Gerontological Society of America. Due to the Institute's success, these funders have committed to supporting it through 2010.

For more information about the Institute call Mehrotra at (218) 723-6265 or (218) 723-6161.