Leveraging Behavioral Sciences for Dementia Care

Making medical decisions when there is uncertainty is challenging for patients, caregivers, and the care team. This is especially true for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Insights from the behavioral sciences may help doctors detect dementia earlier and develop more insightful care plans.
Join us on September 17 for a discussion about how the tools of behavioral sciences can be leveraged for better dementia care. Julie Zissimopoulos, co-director of the aging and cognition program at the USC Schaeffer Center will moderate the discussion with Lisa Walke, chief of the division of geriatric medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, and Joanna Lee Hart, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This webinar is hosted by the USC Resource Center for Minority Aging Research and the Center for Advancing Sociodemographic and Economic Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, both housed at the USC Schaeffer Center.
Event Date
Friday, September 17, 2021
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific
Location

Julie M. Zissimopoulos, PhD (Moderator) is an associate professor in the USC Price School of Public Policy. In addition to her faculty appointment, she serves as director of research training and director of the Initiative on Aging and Cognition at the USC Schaeffer Center. She is also co-director of USC’s Alzheimer’s disease focused Resource Center for Minority Aging Research, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

Her research applies insights and methods from economics to several health policy areas such as risk and health care costs of Alzheimer’s disease, medical expenditures, caregiving and financial support between generations of family members. Zissimopoulos is currently leading several NIA funded research projects on: the health of caregivers for persons with dementia; the use of and response to drug therapies for non-Alzheimer’s disease conditions that influence risk of Alzheimer’s disease; and racial and ethnic disparities in health care treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Her recently published research appears in numerous publications such as the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology, Journal of Gerontology Social Science, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Journal of Health Economics. She is a frequent speaker on the economics of aging and her research is frequently disseminated through the popular press including media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN and National Public Radio.

Zissimopoulos received her BA summa cum laude from Boston College, her MA from Columbia University, and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Lisa M. Walke, MD, MSHA, AGSF became Chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine for the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania in July 2018.  Under her leadership, the division is improving the quality of care provided to older adults; advancing clinical research in Alzheimer’s disease, health disparities, sleep disorders and the interface between socioeconomic status and disability; and educating the next generation of healthcare professionals on fundamental geriatrics principles.  Dr. Walke’s scholarship focuses on improving health outcomes for older medical and surgical patients through the implementation and evaluation of innovative care delivery models.

Before coming to Penn Medicine, Dr. Walke was the Associate Chief for Clinical Affairs in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, a position she held from 2012.  She earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Harvard University, her medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and her Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from the University of New Haven.  Dr. Walke completed clinical training in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center before receiving fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at Yale University.  After completing her fellowship, Dr. Walke was on the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine from 2003-2018.

Dr. Walke is active in Geriatrics on a national scale.  She is a member of the American Geriatrics Society Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee, a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Geriatric Medicine Board and the President elect for the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs.

Dr. Walke became a fellow of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) in 2014 and received the AGS Outstanding Mid-Career Clinician Educator of the Year award in 2017.  She was designated as a Top Doctor in Geriatric Medicine by New York Magazine in 2014 & 2017 and by Philadelphia Magazine in 2020 & 2021.  Dr. Walke is a member of the Carol Emmott Fellowship Class of 2021; she is implementing a virtual Geriatrics consultation service at two hospitals within Penn Medicine for her capstone project.

Joanna Lee Hart, MD, MSHP is a faculty member and attending Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on complex medical decision making. She has particular research interests in empirical bioethics, expectation formation, physician-attributable variation in care delivery, and health equity. Current research projects include expectation accuracy among patients with advanced lung disease and their caregivers, tobacco treatment for underserved adults, understanding the role of caregiving youth, and achieving equitable delivery of family-centered critical care.

Dr. Hart received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Northwestern University and her medical degree from the University of Virginia. She completed her Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, and Critical Care training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and earned a Masters of Science in Health Policy Research from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Hart provides inpatient critical care services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is on staff at the Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, where she maintains an outpatient pulmonary clinic. She is also deeply committed to the education of the next generation of physicians, particularly those from groups underrepresented in the medical profession.

Dr. Hart lives and works in the West Philadelphia area, making her home in Cedar Park with her husband and two young children, a couple of rescued beagles, and the foster kittens of the moment. Her family is always out and about enjoying the diverse and vibrant city of Philadelphia and they also enjoy traveling, especially to Central America.