living healthy longer

Michael "Mick" Smyer , former provost and emeritus professor of psychology at Bucknell University, is now the founder and CEO of Growing Greener, an initiative dedicated to mobilizing older adults to take action on climate change. In this season 4 finale, we discuss strategies for navigating conversations about climate change with those around you. We also examine why older adults are part...

Anita Bundy , an occupational therapist at CSU, discusses the vital role of play throughout life – from childhood to older adulthood. She explains how "risky play" helps children develop physically, cognitively, and emotionally, and how play remains important for older adults. Through sports and social activities, play helps adults and caregivers balance the "dignity of risk" with...

Nancy Murray , an economic development specialist with Larimer County, joins to discuss an Opportunity Now grant aimed at addressing Colorado's caregiver shortage. With over 684,000 annual openings projected nationwide for home health aides, Murray explores challenges of low wages and high turnover while sharing her vision for the transformative CareCorps program. Tune in to learn how you can...

Assistant Professor Julie Silver Seidle , an occupational therapist specializing in older adulthood, shares insights from her 2020 dissertation about the emotional and physical challenges caregivers face during bereavement. She also explores resilience and finding identity and purpose post-caregiving. -- Read Silver Seidle's dissertation, "Life After Caregiving " on ProQuest .

Assistant Professor Julie Moreno and recently graduated Ph. D. student Amanda Latham of CSU's Toxicology program join to discuss the surprising cognitive impacts of urinary tract infections. This episode explores how UTIs can lead to delirium and neurodegeneration, the role of the brain’s immune cells in this process, and why the Dunklin Hartley guinea pig is an ideal model for studies of the...

Grace Borlee , an assistant professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, describes an intergenerational learning project in which MIP students were paired with older adult volunteers to complete a lab experiment. The pilot project explores the benefits of intergenerational learning for both students and older adults, how students can practice communicating their science, and some learning...

Aga Burzynska , an associate professor at CSU and director of The BRAiN Lab , shares her latest research, published in Neurobiology of Aging , which studied 141 adults aged 20 to 80. Burzynska's team found that myelin, the protective insulation around nerves, peaks in our 40s and 50s before gradually declining. This decline, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, is linked to reduced memory pe...

Dr. Saranya Wyles , a dermatologist from the Mayo Clinic, delves into the science of skin aging and the reasoning behind common age-related skin concerns, like wrinkles, age spots, and skin thinning and sagging. She shares a basic skin care routine (with just three products!) that everyone should use to maintain skin health with age – as well as her advice for navigating cosmetic procedures to rev...

Regional Director Lily Griego from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services discusses recent initiatives impacting adults in Colorado, including the HHS's mission to address maternal care, mental health destigmatization, and rural health care accessibility, along with the Inflation Reduction Act's role in reducing health care costs for older adults. Further reading: Strengthening M...

Associate Professor of Communication Studies Meara Faw explores the complexities of caregiving, including statistics on its prevalence, the challenges faced by care partners, and the unique needs they encounter. Faw shares insights from her research on improving caregiver and care-recipient well-being, including interventions like B-Sharp and the performing arts. Also discussed is the 2023 Surgeon...

Dr. Greg Gahm – a geriatrician, Corporate Medical Director for Vivage Senior Living, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at CU Anschutz – discusses the long-term care industry over the decades, including the different types of long-term care available, standards of care provided, and the impact of the pandemic on cost dynamics and staffing structures. If you're just getting introdu...

Amidst the ongoing debate over whether Presidents Biden and Trump are "too old" to run for president again, our season 4 premiere offers a compelling panel discussion. At the crossroads of healthy aging, anti-ageism, political science, and principles of democracy, this episode revisits a thought-provoking conversation originally aired on President's Day 2024. Explore with us the the ex...

Today's episode revisits every guest from season 3 of  living healthy longer  and their answers to the S3 standing question: Can you identify a major challenge in your field that must be overcome to see real improvements in healthspan or healthy aging research? ___ Fill out the podcast feedback form ! Your response will help our host plan future episodes. Sign up here to participate in healthy...

Dr. Kate E. Creevy is a board-certified small animal veterinary internist at Texas A&M University with a primary research interest in canine longevity and healthspan. Creevy – a founder of the Dog Aging Project – shares some interesting findings about diet, cognitive function and physical activity from the first data release of 27,000 pet dogs enrolled in DAP.

According to the CDC, health disparities are "preventable differences in the burden of disease...that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations." Ronica Rooks , a professor of health and behavioral sciences at CU-Denver, joins to discuss racial and ethnic health disparities affecting older adults. Gentrification and social determinants of health are explored, as well as Rooks&#...

Ava Segal is the founder and CEO of Steadi Systems , a health-tech startup out of Golden, CO that is providing solutions for better balance health and awareness. In this episode, Segal discusses the importance of balance fitness and introduces us to Steadiplay : an engaging balance training tool she invented for her doctoral research at Colorado School of Mines. ___ Find Segal on LinkedIn or email...

Is it possible that researchers can find signs of future cognitive decline in muscles before the brain ever shows a deficit? Shelby Osburn, a postdoctoral researcher in CSU's Healthspan Biology Lab , thinks yes. In this episode, Osburn describes her recent proposal to examine the fascinating relationship between skeletal muscle and Alzheimer's disease.

Greg Ebel , a professor and director of CSU's Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, discusses his lab’s history of surveillance and prevention strategies for arboviruses (West Nile, dengue and Zika viruses), and how that work poised his team to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic early in 2020.

About five years ago, some patients in Denver were suffering from a stubborn lung disease that, despite ongoing treatments, was not responding to antibiotics. Patients' symptoms kept worsening, and Drs. Alan Schenkel and Ed Chan were curious. Tune in to hear them describe NTM infection, a lung disease that is becoming more common in adults over the age of 50. What are nontuberculous mycobacter...

Associate Professor of Pathobiology Candace Mathiason introduces us to the weird ways of prions and how they can be used as models for Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Mathiason describes her past research in retroviruses and the approach her lab is taking to develop tests that can detect Alzheimer’s earlier in the disease’s progression. ___ Learn more about prions from the NIH and the CDC . Read ab...

Dr. Stephen Aichele , a quantitative psychologist at CSU, describes the relationship between depression and cognitive decline, and how data science methods can be used to determine predictors of cognitive changes. We briefly discuss the effects of air pollution and lead exposure on cognitive development, and Aichele shares what his research reveals about three key predictors of depression risk fol...

Zhijie Wang , an assistant professor in CSU’s School of Biomedical Engineering, discusses the anatomy of the heart and why the right ventricle has historically been viewed as the “forgotten chamber" in research. We also discuss tissue engineering as a therapy for heart failure and disease. ________ Read about the world's first 3D-printed heart using human cells, created by Israeli scientis...

Josiane Broussard – an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science and the director of the Sleep and Metabolism Lab at CSU – explains the importance of sleep and why this essential behavior is key to every process in the body. How do our sleeping patterns change with age, and what can you do to build a better sleep schedule? ___ Find tips for healthy sleep from the America...

Sara LoTemplio – a new assistant professor in CSU’s Human Dimensions of Natural Resources department – is here to talk about the restorative effects of nature on the brain. From indigenous teachings, to how the heart and brain respond to being outdoors, LoTemplio shares her preliminary ideas on how interactions with nature might slow cognitive decline in older adults and boost mood and attention s...

Today's episode revisits every guest from Season 2 of  living healthy longer  and what makes them most excited for the future of aging studies. Where is aging research going and what makes CHA affiliate faculty hopeful? Our show will return for Season 3 in January 2023! Sign up for our newsletter at  healthyaging.colostate.edu  for updates in the meantime.