The Gerontological Society of America Congratulates New 2023 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 34 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 awardees were honored at various events associated with the GSA 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, which was held from November 8 to 12 in Tampa, Florida. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process.
Society-Wide
M. Powell Lawton Award
Sam Fazio, PhD, FGSA
Alzheimer's Association
This award honors contributions from applied gerontological research that have benefited older people and their care. This award is sponsored by the Polisher Research Institute of Abramson Senior Care.
Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education
Graduate Student Paper Award
Xuexin Yu, MS
University of Michigan
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
Nina Silverstein, PhD, FGSA
University of Massachusetts Boston
This honor is presented annually to recognize colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired.
Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Honor
Judith A. Sugar, PhD, FAGHE
University of Nevada Reno
This honor is presented annually to recognize colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired.
Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Honor
Donna Weinreich, PhD, MSW
Western Michigan University
This honor is presented annually to recognize colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired.
Part Time/Adjunct Faculty Honor
Michelle Pleasant, PhD
University of South Florida
This honor recognizes the efforts and dedication of part-time or adjunct faculty members for contributions to gerontology and/or geriatrics education.
David A. Peterson Award
Recipient: Colette V. Browne, et al. (2022) for “Developing a culturally responsive dementia storybook with Native Hawaiian youth,” Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 43:3, 315-327
Honorable Mention: Andrew Perrella, et al. (2022) for “Assessing the learning needs of physical medicine and rehabilitation residents to develop a geriatric medicine and rehabilitation curriculum,” Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 43:1, 119-13
This award honors excellence in scholarship in academic gerontology and/or geriatrics for an article in a volume of Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya
Utah State University
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Runcie C.W. Chidebe
Miami University, Ohio
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Elisa Enriquez Hesles
University of Virginia
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Sibo Gao
University of Texas at Austin
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Justin Lam
Carnegie Mellon University
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Emily Lim
University of Massachusetts Boston
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Lígia Passos
University of Aveiro
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Yan-Jhu Su
University of Massachusetts Boston
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Dana Urbanski
University of Minnesota
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
James McKenney Student Travel Award
Hannah Wolfe
Northeastern University
This award advances student education on aging in memory of James McKenney.
Behavioral and Social Sciences Section
Student Research Award, Pre-Dissertation
Sangha Jeon, MA
University of California, Irvine
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
Emily Morris, MS
University of Michigan
Zhirui Chen, PhD
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
This award honors an excellent student paper with a topic of relevance to the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of GSA.
Boaz Kahana Student Poster Award
Soohyeon Ko, BA
Korea University
This award recognizes a current BSS student member for original and innovative research relevant to mental health and aging.
Biological Sciences Section
George Sacher Award
Nisi Jiang, BS, MS
UT Health San Antonio
This award is given to the best student paper or poster contribution by a GSA member at the Society's Annual Scientific Meeting.
Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization
Douglas Holmes Award
Karina Tavares, MS
University of Rhode Island
This award recognizes research with potential to improve quality of life and/or quality of care in long-term care.
Interdisciplinary Paper Award
Emily Morris, MS
University of Michigan
This award honors the best interdisciplinary research paper on a topic related to aging by a GSA student member.
Poster Award
Tsai-Chin Cho, MS
University of Michigan
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.
Poster Award
Taylor Jansen, PhD
University of Massachusetts Boston
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.
Poster Award
Xiaojuan Liu, MS
Stanford University
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.
Poster Award
Aung Zaw Zaw Phyo, PhD
Monash University
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.
Poster Award
Ambika Verma, PhD
University of Arkansas
This award honors exceptional posters presented by GSA student members.
Minority Issues in Gerontology Committee Student Poster Award
Xiang Qi, BSN
New York University
This award honors an exceptional poster presented by a GSA student member from an underrepresented racial and ethnic group.
Health Sciences Section
Person-In-Training Award
Kening Jiang, MHS
Johns Hopkins 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
Yurun Cai, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
This award honors a new investigator in the Health Sciences Section.
Austin Bloch Post-Doctoral Fellow Award
Louay Almidani, MD, MS
Johns Hopkins University
This award is given to recognize an outstanding paper or poster contribution by a Postdoctoral Fellow in health sciences.
Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section
Barbara J. Berkman Award for Outstanding Interdisciplinary Research, Practice, or Policy in Aging and Health Care
James Lubben, PhD, FGSA
Boston College
This award acknowledges many years of significant and substantive career contributions to research, practice and policy in aging and health care services.
Elaine M. Brody SRPP Thought Leader Award
Roberta R. Greene, PhD, FGSA
University of Texas
This award acknowledges outstanding career contributions in social research, policy, and practice.
Outstanding Student Poster Award
Narcissa Plummer, MPH
Northeastern University
This award recognizes a current SRPP student member, graduate or undergraduate, for excellence in research as reflected in an outstanding research poster presentation.
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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 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.