Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, FGSA, FAAN is an applied research sociologist, and intervention scientist. She is dean emerita, and a distinguished professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. She is also the inaugural executive director of its AgeWell Collaboratory that oversees Drexel’s Age Friendly University international designation, and partners with community organizations serving diverse older adults and families. Dr. Gitlin is also the Chief Scientific Officer of Plans4Care, Inc., a company she co-founded to develop digital solutions to support family caregivers and practitioners by providing evidence-based nonpharmacological strategies to manage dementia-related symptoms. With over 40 years of continuous NIH research support, Gitlin is nationally and internationally recognized for her home and community-based interventions for older adults and family caregivers. She is involved in translating, disseminating and implementing many of her proven programs for delivery in diverse practice settings worldwide. She is the author or co-author of close to 500 scientific publications including seven books. Some of her measures and books have been translated into different languages.Gitlin is the recipient of numerous awards, notably the 2011 John Mackey Award for Excellence in Dementia Care, from Johns Hopkins University, the 2014 M. Powell Lawton Award from the Gerontological Society of America, and in 2015 she was named as an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. In 2017, she co-chaired the first National Research Summit on Care and Services for Persons Living with Dementia and their Caregivers. She also served as a member and then chair of the National Alzheimer’s Plan Advisory Council to the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States, and more recently has served as a member of the international Lancet Commission on Dementia Care.Sara J. Czaja, PhD, is the Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Medicine and Professor of Gerontology and the Director of the Center on Aging and Behavioral Research and the newly formed Center for the Study and Support of Caregivers in the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at Weill Cornell Medicine. She has extensive experience in Aging research both theoretical and applied, and coordination and leadership of multi-site collaborations. She is the PI of the NIA funded multi-site Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) and the Co-Director of the ENHANCE (Enhancing Neurocognitive Health, Abilities, Networks, & Community Engagement) Center, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, with a focus on how technology can support older adults living with cognitive impairment. Her research interests include aging and cognition, aging and healthcare informatics, caregiving, behavioral intervention research, training, and functional assessment. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the Gerontological Society of America. She also served as a member of the National Academy of Science Board on Human Systems Integration. She is a Past President of Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of APA and recently served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Healthy Cognitive Aging and the Institute of Medicine Committee on Family Caregivers of Older Adults.Dr. Czaja is the recipient of the 2015 M. Powell Lawton Distinguished Contribution Award for Applied Gerontology, of the American Psychological Association (APA), the 2013 Social Impact Award for the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the 2013 Jack A. Kraft Award for Innovation from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, The Franklin V. Taylor Award, Division 21, APA), and the M. Powell Lawton Award of the Gerontological Society of America (2020).
