Research

Our faculty conduct significant research in three major areas: Aging and health; cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease; and Public policy and long-term care.

To learn more about the faculty members conducting research in our three major areas, click on the names shown below:

Aging and health

Tamara A. Baker, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Specialty: Chronic Pain; Health Disparities; Minority Aging

William E. Haley, Ph.D., Professor .
Specialty: Family Caregiving; Coping with Chronic Illness; End-of-Life; Minority Aging

Jessica McIlvane, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Specialty: Coping with Chronic Illness and Stress; Social Relations; Osteoarthritis; Mild Cognitive Impairment

Sandra Reynolds, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Assistant Director Academic Affairs
Specialty: Guardianship; Trends in Health; Obesity and Active Life Expectancy

Joseph Walton, Ph.D., Professor
Specialty:  Neural Bases of Presbycusis; Aging & Speech Perception

Cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Ross Andel, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Specialty: Risk Factors for Cognitive Impairment; Physical Activity, Health, & Aging

Jerri Edwards, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Specialty: Maintaining Driving Abilities; Cognitive Interventions

Cathy McEvoy, Ph.D., Professor and Director School of Aging Studies
Specialty: Cognitive Changes In Aging

Jennifer O'Brien, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow
Speciality: Visual Attention; Cognitive Training

Brent Small, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Specialty: Memory & Cognitive Performance; Early Cognitive Markers of Alzheimer’s Disease

Public policy and long-term care

Debra Dobbs, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Specialty: Assisted Living; Palliative & Hospice Care; Advanced Care Planning

Kathryn Hyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director, Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging
Specialty: Organization, Services, Policies, & Financing of Long-Term Care; Quality of Care in Nursing Homes; Workforce Education; Health Care Reform & Policy

Hongdao Meng, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Specialty: Aging and Health Policy, Health Economics

Brianne Stanback, Ph.D., Instructor and Internship Program Director
Specialty: Aging in Vulnerable Populations; Gerontology in Higher Education