School of Aging Studies

PhD in Aging Studies Program

Below is a listing of current students and graduates from the Ph.D. in Aging Studies program. Click on the persons name to learn more about what they do at the University of South Florida.

Current Students

Name Areas of Interest
Jessica Allen End-of-Life, Advance Care Planning, Quality-of-Life, Cognitive Impairment, Improving Physician-Patient Relationships.
Ed Bart Transportation options for the elderly. Driving cessation predictors and functional performance indicators. Public policy development as it relates to Senior mobility.
Lindsay Bratsman End of life care, music therapy for older adults, harp music as palliative care for the dying, hospice caregivers, proxy ratings, mixed methods research techniques, and spirituality/religion
Cathy Emmett End of Life Decision Making, Caregiving, Bereavement.
Elizabeth Gagnon Memory in normal aging adults, especially in the area of false memories, memory decline, and cognitive impairment.
Elizabeth A. Hahn Managing stress and maintaining wellbeing in widowhood
Yang Ji Trends and patterns of health and disease outcomes.
Social antecedents of health outcomes in later life.
Persistent health inequalities in later life.
Demography of Aging.
Jessica Krok Special populations, advanced directives, ethics, quality-of-life, and caregiving
Melissa Lunsman Stress and coping in MCI patients and care partners;Creativity, dementia, and arts interventions; and Psychometrics (scale development).
Nancy Lynn Mental/behavioral health issues, quality of life, social support.
Brianne McCarthy Stanback Older offenders, aging of special populations, aging and public policy, international geronotology, socio-cultural aging.
Catherine McCarty

Hospice Utilization for persons with Alzheimer’s disease; palliation and quality of life for Alzheimer's disease.
Financial Burden & Caregiver Perception as Predictors of Depression in Alzheimer’s Caregivers.
International Dementia Care.

Whitney Mills Personality and adjustment to long-term care, long-term care, affordable housing, housing policy, serious mental illness, mental health, independence, autonomy, and quality of life.
Chivon Mingo Health Disparities with a concentration in arthritis research.
Elizabeth Perkins

Aging with intellectual disabilities; quality of life for family caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities and their care recipients.

Karon Phillips Cultural Competence in the health care system
Mental Health Disparities
Health Policy
Sung Han Rhew Health services and health status for the elderly using geography information system. Health disparity among minority elderly in adult care facilities. Aging in urban settings.
Kerri Sharp Rawson Genetic risks of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Pathogenesis of cognitive decline.
Neuropsychological testing for dementia.
April Temple Staffing and turnover in nursing homes.
Quality of care in long-term care.
Utilization of long-term care services.
Kali Thomas Nursing Home Staffing; Quality of Care in Long-Term Care; Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery in Long-Term Care Facilities
Elizabeth Vongxaiburana Pain Management in Long Term Care; Alzheimer's-related Dementia; Medical Ethics

Our Recent Graduates

Name Areas of Interest
Wendy Anemaet The effect of exercise on the molecular and tissue level pathophysiology of osteoarthritis.
Linda Albert Economic aspects of aging.
Elizabeth Bergman Family caregiver and bereavement interventions and service utilization; end-of-life issues; hospice and palliative care; stress and coping in the context of the aging family; gender and multicultural aspects of aging.
Allison Burton End of Life Issues, specifically hospice care, bereavement, and family caregiving; Interventions for family caregivers.
Hongbin Chen Treatment decision making in elderly cancer patients.
Edith Dopking Aging with a disability, exercise physiology, and recreation.
Celinda Evitt Fear of falling in the elderly, wound care, wellness.
Deborah Gavin-Dreschnack Ergonomics, adaptive seating, and long term care.
Karen Gosche Radiology and pathology of Alzheimer's disease.
Deborah Hedgecock Quality of life in nursing home patients.
Beth Hui Han Self-reported health in the elderly.
Linda Henderson Chronic diseases in Native American elders.
Tiffany Hughes The influence of lifestyle on cognitive aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Giyeon Kim Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health.
Yanen Li Mental health care for the elderly.
Yuri Jang Psychosocial resources, physical and mental health, culture and diversity.
Jung Kwak Diversity issues in end-of-life care.
Julie Malphurs Homicidal and suicidal behavior of older adults.
D. Helen Moore Prognostic factors in hospice admission.
Katie Petrossi "Lifestyle choices" in long-term care settings.
Mihaela Popa Health preventive behaviors for chronic diseases in the socio-economic and cultural context.
Christopher Rosnick Cognition and aging, end-of-life decision-making.
Claire Robb Mental health policy, alternative mental health care delivery.
Lori Roscoe Medical issues and end-of-life decision making.
Frances Sahebzamani Women's health, cardiovascular risk and disease.
Jennifer Salmon Quality of life in long term care.
Carla Vandeweerd Financial exploitation of older adults.
Keren Vergon

How participation in religious rituals may influence human development, especially in old age.

Helen Zayac Community and city planning for aging populations.

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