Media Advisory

UF experts on Aging and Geriatric Research

The following University of Florida researchers are available to speak to reporters on a range of topics related to aging and geriatric research.

Stephen Anton, associate professor and chief, Division of Clinical Research, Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interests: Obesity, metabolic disease, aging, lifestyle, botanicals

Anton studies the role of lifestyle factors in influencing obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease conditions. He is trained in health promotion and delivery of lifestyle interventions designed to modify eating and exercise behaviors.

santon@ufl.edu | (352) 273-7514

Sara N. Burke, assistant professor, Department of Neuroscience, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interests: Age-related cognitive decline, how brain structures interact over human lifespan and relation to cognitive and physical abilities

Burke’s research focuses on understanding how various brain regions communicate with each other and how such communication is affected and altered by old age. Her studies aim to design therapeutic strategies for alleviating alleviating cognitive dysfunction to promote positive health outcomes in the elderly.

burkes@ufl.edu | (352) 294-4979

Ron Cohen, professor, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions; director, Cognitive Aging and Memory Clinical Translational Research Program

Clinical interests: Neuropsychology of attention, attention and memory; reward systems and their influence on attention and other cognitive functions, neuroimaging, age-associated cognitive and brain dysfunction, neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, HIV-associated neurocognitive dysfunction, cardiovascular-associated brain dysfunction, biomarker discovery.

Cohen’s research aims to advance understanding of normal cognitive aging, including brain changes that occur with advanced age via development and implementation of new interventions such as cognitive and behavioral training approaches, brain stimulation methods and new drugs for neuroprotection and cognitive enhancement.

roncohen@ufl.edu | (352) 294-5840

 

Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, assistant professor, Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interest: neural mechanisms underlying pain and mobility impairments in older adults

As a clinical neuroscientist, Cruz-Almeida’s research interests are related to understanding the mechanisms involved in age-related pain perception and modulation in humans. Using multiple interdisciplinary and translational approaches, she examines nervous system factors contributing to the observed inter-individual differences in pain phenotypes in older adults and their consequences, including cognitive and mobility impairments.

cryeni@ufl.edu | (352) 294-5845

Thomas C Foster, professor and Evelyn F. McKnight chair for research on cognitive aging and memory, Department of Neuroscience, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interests: memory, aging, synaptic plasticity, gene regulation

Foster’s research focuses on attention and memory difficulties and how they increase with advancing age with the goal of identifying mechanisms for age-related memory improvement and developing treatments to alleviate memory deficits.  

Foster1@ufl.edu | (352) 273-5093

Stephen Golant, professor, Department of Geography, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Clinical interests: Gerontology, quality of life in older people, transportation problems and behaviors of older persons

Golant conducts research on the housing, mobility, transportation, and long-term care needs of older adult populations. A Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, he served as a consultant to the Congressionally-appointed Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors in the 21st Century (Seniors Commission).

golant@ufl.edu | (352) 294-7505

Christian Leeuwenburgh, professor and chief, Division of Biology and Aging, UF Institute on Aging, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interests: Aging, mitochondrial biology

Leeuwenburgh's research focuses on finding interventions to prevent the mitochondria from becoming dysfunctional, specifically diet and exercise, to reduce oxidative stress, that contributes to the aging process.  

cleeuwen@ufl.edu | (352) 273-5735

Michael Marsiske, associate professor, Department of Clinical Health and Health Psychology, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions

Clinical interests: Cognitive aging with an emphasis on cognitive intervention strategies with older adults

Marsiske has been a principal investigator since 1997 on the National Institute on Aging ACTIVE trial, a clinical trial of cognitive training for older adults. He has studied a variety of cognitive intervention approaches with older adults including exercise promotion, exergames, aerobic fitness, action video games, self-administered computer training and cognitive collaboration.

marsiske@phhp.ufl.edu | (352) 273-5097   

Marco Pahor, director, UF Institute on Aging; professor and founding chair, Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interests: Geriatric research, physical function, disability, epidemiology, randomized control trials

Pahor is an internationally recognized expert on population-based studies, clinical trials and multidisciplinary translational research in the fields of aging and disability. He serves as director of faculty mentoring programs of the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center and has served on the Physical Exercise Task Force and the Aging Clinical Trials Advisory Panel of the National Institute on Aging.

mpahor@ufl.edu | (352) 294-5800

Catherine Price, associate professor, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions

Clinical interests: Disease associated cognitive decline, vulnerability to cognitive change after elective medical interventions such as orthopedic surgery

Price trains and supervises predoctoral, interns, and postdoctoral students in the neuropsychological assessment of adults to provide intensive training in neuropsychology, specifically dementia/movement disorders and post-operative cognitive dysfunction.

Cep23@phhp.ufl.edu | (352) 273-6617

Glenn Smith, professor and chair, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions

Clinical interests: Lifestyle modifications to reduce the risk for mild cognitive impairment and dementia

Smith’s research focuses on understanding cognitive functions on which behavioral interventions can build, such as procedural memory, in health elderly persons as well as in patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

glennsmith@phhp.ufl.edu | (352) 273-6556

Laurence M. Solberg, clinical associate professor and chief, Division of Geriatric Medicine, UF College of Medicine

Clinical interests: Delirium in hospitalized holder patients, hospital care of elders, stress in caregivers of dementia patients

Solberg is active in the American Geriatrics Society, serving on the program planning committee and the Junior Faculty Development Task Force. He is a frequent speaker at national symposia and has presented many abstracts at national scientific meetings. He was inducted in 2012 as a fellow in the American Geriatrics Society for contributions to the field in clinical, educational, and research activities.

lmsolberg@ufl.edu | (352) 265-0615