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GSA has teamed-up with several other organizations to address the challenges presented by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile — or C. difficile as it’s commonly abbreviated. Over the past year, I have had the privilege of representing GSA on the Steering Committee of the C. difficile Awareness Initiative, which was formed in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deeming this infectious disease an urgent public health threat.
When the pandemic unfolded last year, my admiration for the GSA membership was once again reaffirmed when our newly formed GSA COVID-19 Task Force and existing National Adult Vaccination Program Workgroup began rolling out an impressive array of resources to help all of us make sense of emerging information about COVID-19 and its impact on older adults.
And it’s important to know their work is continuing, and updates have been made to existing tools as we gain new knowledge, particularly in the area of vaccines.
The National Advisory Council on Aging (NACA), which meets three times annually, will convene again on Wednesday, May 12. Members of the scientific community and public are invited to join the open portion of the meeting, which will take place via live videocast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. The agenda is available to view online.
The events of the past year have put into perspective just how important careers in aging are. As the world has wrestled with the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers, clinicians, educators, direct care workers, and service providers supporting older adults have played an outsized role. And the demand for professionals with expertise in aging is growing rapidly. As members of the field, it’s up to us to make sure this realization isn’t lost as we move forward.
The entire GSA community is invited to join us as we celebrate Careers in Aging Week 2021, taking place from April 18 to 24. The activities will be conducted online and there are many ways to get involved.
The Alzheimer’s Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published a 17-page action brief on dementia caregiving titled “Promoting Caregiving Across the Full Community: The Role for Public Health Strategists.”
This resource offers an overview of the challenges of caregiving for people living with dementia, then provides state, local, and tribal public health leaders with a framework and resources for action. I encourage you to explore this new action brief.
A new aging-related documentary titled “Fast Forward” has just made its debut on PBS, and a number of GSA members are featured as they provide expert commentary! It’s now streaming on the PBS video app; check your local PBS resources to find out when you can find it airing or on demand.
The gerontological research community should be proud of the way it has responded to the need for study of the COVID-19 pandemic. The work of many scholars has resulted in dozens of articles on the topic appearing in GSA’s journals, and this has resulted in several important new themed collections and special issues.
The February and March issues of The Gerontologist are special issues made up of invited papers under the theme of “Gerontology in a Time of Pandemic.” (Following the call for papers, the editorial team received 132 submissions from 25 different countries!)
The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences — GSA’s top-rated journal as measured by impact factor for 10 years running — has introduced a new feature within its biological sciences pages that will be of interest to all members. The recently launched Fellows Forum enhances the journal’s connections to the GSA membership by providing a platform for fellows in our Biological Sciences Section to share their insights and experience in the field of aging biology.
The next few weeks at GSA offer some prime opportunities to share your science! Not only are we accepting abstracts for the 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting (until March 11), but GSA’s journals have three open calls for submissions across a wide range of disciplines.
GSA is now accepting abstract submissions for this November’s Annual Scientific Meeting! This is your chance to advance the science of aging — and as we take stock of the past year’s upheavals, we find that science was one of few arenas that brought us significant hope.
While the development of new COVID-19 vaccines may be the achievement most people remember from this time, there were critical advances in other important areas, too. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, Dr. Francis Collins, recently authored a blog highlighting many of them.
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