Putnam Chosen as GSA’s Next Innovation in Aging Editor
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has named Michelle Putnam, MGS, PhD, FGSA, of Simmons University as the next editor-in-chief of the journal Innovation in Aging, effective January 2025.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Putnam, a highly accomplished and visionary social work scholar at the intersection of aging and disability as the next editor-in-chief of Innovation in Aging,” said Abraham A. Brody, PhD, RN, FGSA, the chair of GSA’s Program, Publications, and Products Committee. “Dr. Putnam was selected from an incredibly accomplished field of applicants based on her innovative vision for the next phase of GSA’s newest, and highest impact factor journal. We look forward to her stewardship and continued advancement of the journal to further progress scholarship, practice, and policy of gerontology and geriatrics over her four-year term.”
Innovation in Aging is an online open access journal published by Oxford Journals on behalf of GSA. It contains conceptually sound, methodologically rigorous research studies that describe innovative theories, research methods, interventions, evaluations, and policies relevant to aging and the life course.
“It’s an honor to be selected for this role and to serve GSA in this capacity,” Putnam said. “Innovation in Aging is rooted in GSA’s interdisciplinary strengths, carrying forward a mission help translate science into practice, knowledge into action. I look forward to working with authors, reviewers, and the entire editorial team. I am grateful to Dr. Stephen Albert and before him, Dr. Laura Sands, who created such a strong foundation for Innovation in Aging in its first eight years.”
At Simmons University, Putnam is a professor and the Jennifer Eckert '08 School of Social Work Chair. Her research focuses on the intersections of aging and disability, with particular emphasis on understanding how public programs and public policy meet the needs of persons aging with disability. Within this area, her work examines collaborations between aging and disability service providers and their capacity to serve the aging with disability population, long-term care and support needs of persons aging with disabilities, the role of activity portfolios in fostering well-being among older adults, and participation and engagement among older adults and persons aging with disability. Her work has been supported by funders including the National Institute on Aging, National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and the John A. Hartford Foundation, and published in The Gerontologist, Journal of Gerontology, Series B, Social Sciences, F1000, Disability and Health Journal and other gerontology, disability, public health and social work journals.
In addition to her research, Putnam actively participates at the national and international level in building bridges across the aging and disability fields of policy and practice. She served as a founding member of the Bridging Aging and Disability International Network (a collaboration with March of Dimes Canada), is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, and a member of the National Advisory Board on Improving Health Care Services for Older Adults and People with Disabilities, an independent board with funded by Elevance Health, to provide expert opinion and guidance on the health care needs of persons with disabilities of all ages.
Putnam served as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Gerontological Social Work from 2014 to 2020. She most recently co-edited the “Handbook on Aging with Disability,” published by Routledge. Along with Tamar Heller, PhD, she serves as co-guest editor of a forthcoming special issue of The Gerontologist focused on bridging aging and disability research.
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Innovation in Aging is a peer-reviewed publication of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure includes a nonpartisan public policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and GSA is also home to the National Center to Reframe Aging and the National Coordinating Center for the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research.