The Gerontological Society of America Congratulates New 2020 Awardees

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the country’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — is proud to acknowledge the work of 20 outstanding individuals through its prestigious awards program.

GSA salutes outstanding research, recognizes distinguished leadership in teaching and service, and fosters new ideas through a host of awards. Nominated by their peers, the recipients’ achievements serve as milestones in the history and development of gerontology.

The award presentations will take place during GSA’s 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting Online, which will be held from November 4 to 7. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process.

Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education

Administrative Leadership Honor
Freeman A. Hrabowski III, PhD
University of Maryland, Baltimore Country
This award honors administrators on AGHE member campuses who have made exceptional efforts in support of gerontology and/or geriatrics education.

Graduate Student Paper Award
Yang Li, MS, MA
University of Massachusetts Boston
This award recognizes excellence in scholarly work by a student at an AGHE member institution or has selected AGHE as a primary or secondary section, and who presents his or her work at the GSA Annual Meeting.

Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Honor
Douglas P. Reed, PhD, FAGHE
University of Central Oklahoma
This honor is presented annually to recognize colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired.

Part Time/Adjunct Faculty Honor
Mary Francis DeRose, PhD
University of Massachusetts Boston
This honor recognizes the efforts and dedication of part-time or adjunct faculty members for contributions to gerontology and/or geriatrics education.

Behavioral and Social Sciences Section

Student Research Award, Pre-Dissertation
Jin Hui Wen, MA
University of British Columbia
This award honors an excellent student paper with a topic of relevance to the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of GSA.

Student Research Award, Dissertation
Shenghao Zhang, PhD
Florida State University
This award honors an excellent student paper with a topic of relevance to the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of GSA.

T.J. McCallum Memorial Student Registration Award
Julia G. Burgdorf, PhD
Johns Hopkins University
This award honors student members with a focus on caregiving or technology.

T.J. McCallum Memorial Student Registration Award
Jing Huang, BS
The University of Hong Kong
This award honors student members with a focus on caregiving or technology.

T.J. McCallum Memorial Student Registration Award
Athena Koumoutzis, MA
Miami University
This award honors student members with a focus on caregiving or technology.

T.J. McCallum Memorial Student Registration Award
Yee To Ng, MA
The University of Texas at Austin
This award honors student members with a focus on caregiving or technology.

T.J. McCallum Memorial Student Registration Award
Elizabeth K. Rhodus, PhD
University of Kentucky
This award honors student members with a focus on caregiving or technology.

Health Sciences Section

Excellence in Rehabilitation of Aging Persons Award
Kenneth J. Ottenbacher, PhD, OTR
University of Texas
This award acknowledges outstanding contributions in the field of rehabilitation of aging persons.

Joseph T. Freeman Award
Cynthia J. Brown, MD, MSPH
University of Alabama at Birmingham
This award honors a prominent clinician in the field of aging, both in research and practice.

Person-In-Training Award
Martha C. Coates, MSN, RN, CRNP
Drexel University
This award honors a student of the Health Sciences section for the best student paper at the Society's Annual Scientific Meeting.

Research Award
Jian-Yu E, MD, ScD, MPH
Johns Hopkins University
This award honors a new investigator in the Health Sciences Section.

Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization

Interdisciplinary Paper Award
Catherine Garcia, PhD
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
This award honors the best interdisciplinary research paper on a topic related to aging by a GSA student member.

Poster Award
Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya, MBBS, MA
University of South Florida
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.

Poster Award
Peiyi Lu, MSW
Iowa State University
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.

Poster Award
Emily L. Mroz, MS
University of Florida
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.

Minority Issues in Gerontology Committee Student Poster Award
Eunyoung Choi, MA
University of Southern California
This award honors an exceptional poster presented by a GSA student member from an underrepresented racial and ethnic group.

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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is 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 also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society.