Research Affiliates
Meet the ACCC's Research Affiliates, a group of scholars dedicated to studying and addressing issues related to the aging population and climate change. If you would like to join the Clearinghouse as a research affiliate, please contact us.
Liat Ayalon Studies How Generations Think About Climate Change
Generations working together is essential to addressing climate change.
Arun Balachandran
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Ph.D., Demography, University of Groningen; M.Sc., Economics, Madras School of Economics
Research Interests:
Measuring population ageing; mortality and health; cross-national comparison of population ageing
David Burdick
Professor, Department of Psychology, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA
Director, Stockton Center on Successful Aging, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA
Research Interests:
Gerontechnology; intergenerational relationships; environmental psychology
Gloria Gutman
Research Associated, Professor Emerita, Gerontology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Ph.D., Social and Developmental Psychology, University of British Columbia; M.A., Psychology of Aging, University of Alberta
Research Interests:
The intersection of population aging and climate change; seniors and disasters; gerontechnology; seniors housing; assisted living and long-term care
Hui Zhao
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA
Ph.D., R.N., Nursing, University of Virginia
Research Interests:
Older adults and climate change; DEI and nursing education; pain management for people with dementia; improving quality of care for family caregivers and their care recipients with dementia; successful aging
Leah Haverhals
Health Research Scientist, Co-Director Qualitative Core, Communications Director, Denver-Seattle Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver, CO, USA
Assistant Professor, Division of Health Care Policy and Research, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
Research Interests:
Older adults and disasters; home-based long-term care; caregivers of older adults; Veterans’ access to care; social isolation and loneliness of older adults and their caregivers; telehealth
Lena K. Makaroun
Assistant Professor of Geriatric Medicine, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion and Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
M.D., Weill Cornell Medical College and MS in Health Services from University of Washington School of Public Health
Research Interests:
Health-related social risk factors for older adults; elder mistreatment detection and response; caregiving; activation and engagement in later life
M. Aaron Guest
Assistant Professor of Aging, Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Ph.D., Gerontology, University of Kentucky; M.P.H., Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina; M.S.W., Organizations and Communities, University of South Carolina
Research Interests:
Social and built environments for aging; aging in rural communities; sexual and gender older adult health outcomes; ego-centric social networks and health; planetary health
Marlene Friis
Ph.D. Student, Aging Studies, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
M.A., Image Studies, University of Kent at Canterbury; M.A., TESOL Hunter College, City University of New York
Research Interests:
Older adults and climate change; effects of climate change mitigation projects on older adults; age and environmental activism; qualitative research methods; gender-based choices in later life
Natalia Festa
Geriatrician, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, USA
Doctoral Candidate, Investigative Medicine Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Research Interests:
Opportunities to prolong functional independence for older adults; emergency preparedness for aging populations; claims-based measurement of aging outcomes
Rozmin Jiwani
Association Professor/Clinical, UT Health Science San Antonio, School of Nursing, San Antonio, TX, USA
Research Health Scientist, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio, TX, USA
Research Interests:
Older adults and adults; type 2 diabetes; obesity; frailty; South Asian immigrant population; heart disease; biobehavioral interventions using self-monitoring and mobile health technology (diet, physical activity, Ashtanga yoga, mindfulness)
Tamar Wyte-Lake
Associate Director of Clinical Research, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center, Office of Patient Care Services, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, CA, USA
D.P.T., University of Southern California; M.P.H., Health Services, University of California, Los Angeles
Research Interests:
Older adults and disasters; the role of home-based primary care and home health agencies in supporting patients and staff around disasters
Tuo-Yu (Tim) Chen
Assistant Professor, Global Health and Health Security, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan
Ph.D., School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida
Research Interests:
The relationship of sleep health with physical and mental health among older adults; impacts of environment on health among older people
Yasemin Afacan
Associate Professor, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
Ph.D., Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Bilkent University; M.A., Architecture, Middle East Technical University
Research Interests:
Environmental gerontology; healthy aging and climate change; sustainable built environments; user-centered design; neuroarchitecture
Zhen Cong
Professor and Director of Climate and Health Initiative, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Research Interests:
Older adults’ vulnerability and resilience to disasters; social and health disparities related to disasters; social support; disaster preparedness; access and response to warnings; mitigation; recovery process associated with disasters; decision making