Director & Principal Investigator of the Pre-Doctoral Training Program
Peter Lichtenberg, Ph.D. ABPP, Director of the Institute of Gerontology & Interim Director of the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, & Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience & Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Dr. Lichtenberg founded the pre-doctoral training program in 1996 and led NIH-funded efforts to obtain T32 NIH support for the training program since 1996. He is very active in aging and urban health, mentoring graduate students, teaching, and engaging in an active program of funded research. He is a nationally recognized expert in health disparities with a particular interest in dementia, depression and independent functioning in urban older adults. Along with Dr. James Jackson from the University of Michigan, Dr. Lichtenberg is a principal investigator on a center grant (Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research) and several other training, research and educational grants resulting in a grant portfolio over $8,000,000. A new and developing research interest is evaluation of cognitive and financial competency. He is increasingly being sought out for expert testimony and consultation in complex legal cases in the state of Michigan and nationally. Dr. Lichtenberg has received WSU’s Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award and Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award in 2001.
Co-Director of the Pre-Doctoral Training Program
Cathy Lysack, Ph.D., OT(C) Deputy Director of the Institute of Gerontology, & Professor of Occupational Therapy & Gerontology
As Co-Director of the pre-doctoral training program, Dr. Lysack is responsible for ensuring a strong research and training experience for all students. She meets regularly with the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) at the IOG, chairs the pre-doctoral graduate training program committee (GRTC) meetings, and oversees the IOG Colloquium Series, amongst other duties. She has mentored 3 pre-docs and 2 post-docs since joining the IOG in 2000. Her research interests focus on community-dwelling older adults and persons with physical disabilities. Her research is focused on understanding the disability experience, improved rehabilitation outcomes, and strengthening knowledge and practice skills of occupational therapists and other health care professionals. As principal investigator, she has completed the NIH-funded R01 project, ‚Community Living After Spinal Cord Injury: Models and Outcomes,‛ and is currently an investigator on two other multi-year R01 grants from the NIH focused on the social consequences of hip fracture and downsizing households in later life. With Dr. Lichenberg she is currently conducting a study to evaluate depression screening and treatment for older adults.
Other Training Faculty (IOG and campus-wide)
Diane Adamo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Health Care Sciences
Dr. Adamo’s research is focused on the study of human sensorimotor control systems and performance. She is interested in investigating the peripheral and central components associated with sensorimotor control, and more recently the extent to which changes in cognition contribute to human performance in older individuals. Neurophysiological and behavioral approaches are used as complementary methods to investigate the role of proprioceptive, exteroceptive, visual information and cognitive processes in the control and regulation of sensorimotor activities. http://cphs.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=1574
Nancy Artinian, Ph.D., RN, BC, FAHA, Professor of Nursing
Dr. Artinian is a board certified cardiovascular nurse who conducts research related to cardiovascular risk reduction, self-care behaviors to promote cardiovascular health, and the use of telehealth strategies. She recently completed an NIH-funded randomized controlled trial that compared the effects of a home blood pressure telemonitoring intervention with usual care on blood pressure control. This project has yielded numerous publications that are guiding ‘best practice standards’ for health care practitioners. Her work has also revealed new knowledge about hypertension screening and intervention. http://www.nursing.wayne.edu/Faculty/Directory/ab5730fp.html
Sherylyn Briller, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology
Dr. Briller is a medical anthropologist whose current research focuses on end of life issues. She has a longstanding interest in cross-cultural gerontology and has conducted research in Asia and in the United States. Dr. Briller served as the Project Director for a National Institute on Aging study examining different models of care for dementia care settings. She has worked on several large-scale research projects focused on creating more supportive environments for persons with dementia. Dr. Briller is also interested in the career development of anthropologists and the role of anthropological education in the formation of professional identities. http://www.clas.wayne.edu/faculty/briller
Annmarie Cano, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and
Director of the Relationships and Health Laboratory in the Department of Psychology
Dr. Cano’s research studies the role of social context and the ways it affects physical and mental health in couples. Funded by a grant from the NIMH, she is currently conducting research on depression and chronic pain in married couples. Dr. Cano is a training clinical psychologist and she teaches both graduate and undergraduate students. She is much sought after masters and dissertation research advisor, many of whom complete their work in her laboratory within the Department of Psychology. http://www.clas.wayne.edu/cano
Heather Dillaway, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Dillaway’s research interests include sex and gender, women's reproductive health, social stratification, the intersections of gender, race class, and other inequalities, family, aging, and the body. Dr. Dillaway's latest research is focused on women's experiences of menopause and reproductive aging. She is also involved with research on African American men’s knowledge of and participation in prostate cancer research trials. Dr. Dillaway currently serves as the undergraduate advisor for the Department of Sociology. Dr. Dillaway received Wayne State University’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the IOG’s Faculty Fellowship in 2007. http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-faculty-detail.asp?FacultyID=31
Joseph Fitzgerald, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Dr. Fitzgerald's research is in the area of applied cognitive psychology. For 25 years his primary interest has been autobiographical memory and its relationship to age, dementia, and depression. In the past few years this has expanded to memory functioning in the context of the legal system. He has also been involved in research on Alzheimer's Disease, particularly in minority populations. He has published extensively in the cognitive aging literature, and more recently in the neuropsychological literature. He is working with colleagues to establish a model of autobiographical memory that will provide links between cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and the impact of culture on memory. http://www.clas.wayne.eduunit-faculty-detail.asp?FacultyID=382
Allon Goldberg, Ph.D., P.T., Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy
Dr. Goldberg’s research interests are related to balance and mobility deficits, trunk control, postural control, and falls, including rehabilitation interventions to reduce falls risk in older adults. He earned his Ph.D. at Wayne State University and received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award to complete a National Institute on Aging-sponsored postdoctoral research fellowship at the Institute of Gerontology at University of Michigan (2003-2005). He also received the 2004 Fellowship for Geriatric Research from the Section on Geriatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association. http://www.pt.cphs.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=1500
Hector M. González, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Institute of Gerontology and
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences
Dr. González’ primary research objectives are to determine modifiable risk factors for disability and to develop and implement cost-effect methods for reducing public health burdens, particularly in disadvantaged populations. Since his clinical and research fellowship at the University of California, Davis, Department of Neurology and later as faculty in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, he has been a Co-Investigator of the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA). Work in this prospective cohort study of aging in older Mexican Americans formed his research objectives into research foci on the leading determinants of morbidity facing the U.S. and global populations, vascular disease and depression. More details on his grants and publications can be found at: http://www.iog.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=554
Janet Hankin, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, & Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, School of Medicine
Trained as a medical sociologist, Dr. Hankin has received NIH grants to study mental illness in primary group settings, utilization and cost of health services for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental disorders, and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders among African American pregnant women. She is currently principal investigator of the Psychosocial Community Measures Core of the Center for Urban & African American Health, Department of Internal Medicine, at the School of Medicine at WSU. She teaches courses in medical sociology, women and health, urban health, and the sociology of health care institutions. She has served as the chair/advisor for more than 35 masters essays, theses, and dissertations. More details can be found at: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-faculty-detail.asp?FacultyID=45
Thomas B. Jankowski, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research Technology
and Infrastructure at the IOG & the Merrill Palmer Skill Institute, & Adjunct Assistant Professor of Political Science
Dr. Jankowski assumes responsibility for all aspect of the computing technology and building security at the IOG and MPSI. He also supervises several staff persons who provide direct computing support services to IOG and MPSI trainees, faculty, staff, RAs, etc. His research interests focus on adult political socialization and the effects of the aging process on political behavior, civic knowledge, and public opinion. He is also interested in the effects of race, gender, and the aging process on the development of political orientations, habits of media use, and patterns of political behavior in individuals. His website Phinished ( http://www.phinished.org ) has garnered international recognition. You can find much more information on Dr. Jankowski’s activities at: http://www.iog.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=411
Gail Jensen-Summers, Ph.D., Professor of Economics & Institute of Gerontology
Dr. Jensen-Summers has an established program of research in the areas of managed care and older adults, employer-sponsored health and pension benefits, health services for chronic conditions, and health policy evaluation. Her research has been sponsored by the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, resulting in over $1.5M in funded research as a principal investigator. Dr. Jensen has mentored several doctoral students in economics over the years and is now mentoring students interested in the economics of health and aging. Most of her students co-authored manuscripts with her while in the training program and some have also submitted for and obtained external funding for their dissertation work. She has published over 70 scholarly articles and chapters. http://www.iog.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=446
Mark Luborsky, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology & Director of Aging & Health Disparities Research Program at the Institute of Gerontology
Dr. Luborsky is one of the foremost experts in the qualitative study of aging and health and disability across the lifespan. He serves as primary mentor to both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees, as well as junior faculty across the WSU campus. He has successfully piloted an innovative model of preparing trainees for grant submissions, which will be incorporated into the proposed program. His current grant portfolio consists of over $7M in NIH funding as principal investigator. He has studied the personal meaning of mobility loss, the meaning of self-rated health, HIV treatment adherence, and breast cancer awareness and treatment. Ongoing research projects focus on the social consequences of hip fracture and downsizing households in late life, both funded by NIH R01 grants. His dedication to graduate student training and mentoring was recognized at WSU in 2005 when he was awarded WSU’s Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award. Dr. Luborsky also serves as co-editor for the internationally-acclaimed journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly. For more details on all of these research activities, see http://www.iog.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=435
Stewart Neufeld, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the Institute of Gerontology, & Adjunct Assistant Professor in Anthropology
Dr. Neufeld’s main research focus is on measuring perceptions and attitudes toward risk. A particular interest is in understanding how personal constructions of risk intersect with objective measures. His ideas have application to disparate areas in aging and health: from the risks associated with adherence to medications, for example, to the risks involved with financial decision-making in retirement. Dr. Neufeld was co-principal investigator on a NIAID funded project studying adherence to medication among HIV+ African Americans. He has been a mentor to pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees and junior faculty, providing consultation in research methodology, statistical analysis and qualitative data analysis. In 2007 through 2009 Dr. Neufeld taught ‚Statistics for Anthropologists‛ a ‘hands-on’ course for social and behavioral graduate students. http://www.iog.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=454
Naftali Raz, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology & Director of Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience Research Program at the Institute of Gerontology
Dr. Raz's research focuses on the neural correlates and modifiers of cognitive aging. His research has been supported since 1992 by the National Institute on Aging. He was recently awarded an NIH merit award. The main themes in the current studies in Dr. Raz's lab are: Differential aging of brain structure; Cognitive consequences of structural brain aging; and Modifiers of brain aging. In the Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Laboratory, graduate students acquire a wide range of research skills. Their training includes computer-aided processing and analysis of MR images, design and administration of cognitive and neuropsychological tests and statistical analysis. Dr. Raz has an extensive list of published journal articles and book chapters. He is an internationally reknown cognitive neuroscience expert. http://www.iog.wayne.edu/bio.php?id=436
Andrea Sankar, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Department Chair
Dr. Sankar has been the principal investigator on several NIH grants and on numerous foundation grants. She is author of Dying at Home (Johns Hopkins University Press) and of several edited volumes and numerous articles. Her research interests are in the area of culture and community based care. This includes care for people with HIV in the United States, Africa, and China. Her current research focuses on health care needs and practices of African Americans. In addition, Dr. Sankar serves on numerous national and local boards and is co-editor of the Medical Anthropology Quarterly. She has served on the Executive Committee of the General Anthropology Division of the AAA. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Anthropology at WSU. http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-faculty-detail.asp?FacultyID=175
Jennifer Ward-Batts, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Economics
Dr. Ward-Batts obtained her Ph.D. in economics, with specialization in labor and demographic economics, from the University of Washington. She completed post-doctoral training in the Economics of Aging, funded by the NIA, at the University of Michigan. She joined Wayne State in fall of 2008 after a few years at a small college. In 2008-09 she was a Fulbright Scholar at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, where she conducted research on changes in law and gender disparities in Turkey. Her research focuses on individual and household decision-making, and bargaining between family members. Dr. Ward-Batts currently has several graduate students working with her on age-related research projects. http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-faculty-detail.asp?FacultyID=1675
John Woodard, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Dr. Woodard’s research is in the following areas: Neuropsychological and neuro-imaging studies of memory in aging and dementia; Cognitive and health-related risk factors for late life anxiety; Detection and tracking of sport related concussion; Statistical and methodological issues in neuropsychological test construction and assessment. He has numerous funded grants in these areas. He is an active teacher at Wayne State University and in 2007 was awarded Fellowship Status by the National Academy of Neuropsychology. More details on all of Dr. Woodard’s research activities can be found at: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-faculty-detail.asp?FacultyID=1287