Gerontology (GERO)

Gerontology Homepage
Degree Offered
Faculty
Program Description

Program Admission Requirements
Facilities and Special Resources
Financial Assistance
Programs and Courses

JOHN SCHUMACHER, Co-Director and Graduate Program Director
DENISE ORWIG, Co-Director

Faculty

(The list includes all affiliated from both UMBC and UMB.)

Professors

DEFORGE, BRUCE R., (Social Work), Ph.D., University of Maryland College Park; Sociology of mental health, psychosocial aspects of health, patient-provider relationships
ECKERT, J. KEVIN, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D.,Northwestern University; Aging and long-term care, social/cultural gerontology, research design/qualitative methods, environment and aging, caregiving
GALIK, BETH, (Nursing), PhD., RN, University of Maryland, Baltimore; Assisted living; dementia
GRUBER-BALDINI, ANN, (Medicine), Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; Gerontology, cognitive functioning, long-term care, lifespan development
GURALNIK, JACK, (Medicine), Ph.D. MD, University of California, Berkeley; physical functioning, disability, measurement of functioning, physical functioning, demographic changes, epidemiology of aging
MAGAZINER, JAY, (Medicine), Ph..D, M.S., Hyg., University of Chicago; Epidemiology, hip fracture recovery, long-term care, methods for studying older people, psychosocial aspects of health
MILLER, NANCY A., (Public Policy), Ph.D., University of Chicago; Health policy and politics, disability and aging, long-term care
MITCHELL, BRAXTON D., (Medicine), Ph.D., University of Michigan; Epidemiology of aging, genetic epidemiology of complex diseases
NAHM, EUN-SHIM, (Nursing), RN, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Health care informatics and gerontology, using computer technology to improve the health-related quality of life of older adults
ORWIG, DENISE L., (Medicine), Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; Bio-behavioral aspects of aging, pharmaco-epidemiology
RESNICK, BARBARA, (Nursing), Ph.D., C.R.N.P., F.A.A.N., F.A.A.N.P., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Motivation in older adults, particularly with regard to functional activities
SHAYA, FADIA T. (Pharmacy and Medicine), Ph.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Geriatric/vulnerable populations drug use, chronic disease, drug safety, pharmaco-economics and pharmaco- epidemiology, community partnerships
SIMONI-WASTILA, LINDA, (Pharmacy), BSPharm, MSPH, PhD, Brandies University; Health services research in mental health and substance use disorders in geriatrics
SORKIN, JOHN, (Medicine), M.D., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Changes that occur with aging in metabolism, biostatistics, informatics
TERRIN, MICHAEL, (Medicine), M.D., CM, MPH, Johns Hopkins University; Clinical Trails, pulmonary disease, cardiovascular epidemiology, data coordinating center
WACHBROIT, ROBERT, (Medicine), Ph.D., University of California-Berkely; ethics
WALDSTEIN, SHARI R., (Psychology), Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; Cardiovascular disease and cognitive aging

Associate Professors

CAGLE, JOHN, (Social Work), Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University; Care at the end of life
CHARD, SARAH, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University; Medical anthropology, urban anthropology, treatment seeking, social support
DAVITT, JOAN, (Social Work), MLSP, MSW, PhD, Bryn Mawr College, Aging, home care, racial/ethnic disparities in home health care
DORAN, KELLY, (Nursing), RN, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Worksite health promotion, behavioral health interventions, motivation
HARRIS-WALLACE, BRANDY, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., The Florida State University, aging and the lifecourse, sociology of health and aging, qualitative research methods, survey research methods, sociology of gender, and critical race theory
HENDERSON, LOREN, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Race, health disparities, sexualities, diversity and inequality
HUANG, YI, (Mathematics/Psychology), Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University; Causal inference, estimating treatment, intervention, exposure effect
KELLEHER, CATHERINE, (Nursing), Sc.D., M.P.H., M.S., R.N., The Johns Hopkins University; Health policy, home- and community-based care
KLINEDINST, N. JENNIFER (Nursing), Ph.D., Emory University; Stroke survivor and family caregiver perception of depressive symptoms in the stroke survivor
LEHNING, AMANDA (Social Work), Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; Aging in Place, Disparities, long-term care
MAIR, CHRISTINE, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., North Carolina State Univ.; life course, aging, and health social ties and social policy inequality and globalization
MCARDLE, PATRICK, (Medicine), Ph.D., University of Maryland Baltimore; Data architecture and data mining application as relevant to large genome wide analyses
MYSLINSKI, NORBERT R., (Dental), Ph.D. University of Illinois; Neuroscience of aging
QUINN, CHARLENE C., (Medicine), Ph.D., R.N., The Johns Hopkins University; Health services research and policy related to longterm care
SACCO, PAUL, (Social Work), Ph.D., LCSW., Washington University in St. Louis; Substance abuse, problem gambling, research methods
SCHUMACHER, JOHN G., (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University; Ethics, decision-making, hospital quality of care
YAMASHITA, TAKA, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., Miami University; Social determinants of health and well-being over the life course, benefits of lifelong learning, socio-geographic access to health resources; health literacy in older populations

Assistant Professors

ADDISON, ODESSA, (Medicine), Ph.D., University of Utah, Intermuscular fat, mobility, function, hip abductors, aging, physical therapy, peripheral arterial disease, balance, and falls
BROWN, JESSICA, (Medicine). Ph.D., UMBC; relations among menopausal vasomotor symptoms, sleep disturbance and mood
CHENG, YU CHING, (Medicine), Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, genetic and environmental factors that predispose individuals to a variety of complex diseases, including stroke, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
D’ADAMO, CHRISTOPHER, (Medicine), Ph.D., University of Maryland Baltimore, synergistic effects of diet, exercise, and genetics on the prevention and treatment of chronic disease
KUSMAUL, NANCY, (Social Work), Ph.D., University of Buffalo, CNA Caring
MARTIN, DIANE, (Graduate School), PhD, Northcentral University; Quality of later life initiatives, person-centered care, aging-in-place
PARKER, ELIZABETH, R.D., Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Community health, integrative nutrition, disease prevention
QATO, DANYA, (Pharmacy), PharmD, MPH, Ph.D., Brown University, Improving regulatory and policy tools to reduce tools to reduce use of high risk medications in vulnerable populations, health disparities
RATHBUN, ALAN (Medicine) PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Depression, rheumatoid arthritis
STAFFORD, KRISTEN, (Medicine), MPH, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore, Infectious diseases, HIV and aging
WESTLAKE, KELLY (Medicine), PhD, PT, Queen’s University; Rehabilitation, optimize and individualize motor learning

Adjunct Professors

FERRUCCI, LUIGI, Ph.D., University of Florence, Italy; Casual pathways leading to progressive physical and cognitive decline in older persons.
PHILLIPS, KARON, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., University of South Florida,

Associate Research Scientist

FRANKOWSKI, ANN CHRISTINE, (Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health), Ph.D., Indiana University; anthropology of aging, culture of long-term care, power and control, gender and sexuality

Program Description

The Doctoral Program in Gerontology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) provides an interdisciplinary and integrative perspective on the process of human aging and the experiences of growing old. The approach acknowledges the complex, dynamic, and bidirectional relationship between individuals and the historical, political, economic, environmental, psychological, social, cultural, and biological contexts in which aging occurs. The goal of the program is to train a new generation of scholars conversant with interdisciplinary and integrative paradigms and research designs to examine the unique, reciprocal, and dynamic nature of aging in context. UMB’s six professional schools (dental, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work) and UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences departments (public policy, psychology, and sociology, anthropology, and public health) combine to make this mission possible by offering three tracks of study:

Aging policy issues
Epidemiology of aging
Social, cultural, and behavioral sciences.

The program also offers a dual-degree program between gerontology and epidemiology and a combined degree program between gerontology and applied sociology. Students earn a PhD in gerontology and a master’s degree in epidemiology or applied sociology.

Students train for careers in research, academia, government, and private organizations. We have embraced nonacademic positions as valuable venues for contribution by our alumni.

Program Admission Requirements

All application materials must be received by December 15 prior to the year in which the student intends to enroll. Three letters of recommendation, GRE scores, transcripts, a goals statement, and a resume/CV are required of all applicants. The TOEFL is required for all international students who do not have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a U.S. institution. All original application documents must be sent directly to the Graduate School, not to the graduate program.
Anyone interested in applying should contact:

Justine Golden, MA
Academic Coordinator, UMB
660 W. Redwood St., HH 200,
Baltimore, MD 21201
or jgold002@umaryland.edu

Facilities and Special Resources

Faculty research and instruction spans the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and social work. Research centers and programs contributing to the program include: the Baltimore Hip Studies, the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, the Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program, the Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center, the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, the Peter Lamy Center for Drug Therapy and Aging, the University of Maryland Center for Research on Aging, and the Center for Aging Studies at UMBC.

Financial Assistance

The program’s commitment is to fund students in their first year and to make every effort to provide funding in the second year. Such funding may involve state support and/or extramural research. Every effort will be made to fund students for subsequent years in the program; however, such funding is contingent on grant funds and the match of faculty and student research interests. As such, students are encouraged to work with their advisors to secure funding beyond their initial two years in the program.

Programs

Doctor of Philosophy

Gerontology, Ph.D.

Courses

Gerontology