Research Program
Aging and Cognition
While the healthcare profession has achieved remarkable progress in lengthening life expectancy, more must be done to ensure that those added years are healthier ones. Schaeffer Center experts are researching the fiscal and health consequences of an aging population, and how we can improve the lives of older adults through interdisciplinary research.
Program Leadership
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Julie Zissimopoulos, PhD
Professor, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
Co-Director, Aging and Cognition Program, USC Schaeffer Center
Co-Director, CeASES ADRD and AD-RCMAR
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Mireille Jacobson, PhD
Co-Director, Aging and Cognition Program, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Professor, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Featured Research

Expanding the Use of Brief Cognitive Assessments to Detect Suspected Early-Stage Cognitive Impairment in Primary Care
Providing primary care clinicians with suitable assessment tools, integrating brief cognitive assessments into routine workflows, and crafting payment policies to encourage adoption of assessments would all help improve detection.

Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Living with Dementia
The Beers Criteria identifies potentially inappropriate medications that should be avoided in older adults living with dementia.

Prescription Drug Advertising and Drug Utilization: The Role of Medicare Part D
This paper examines how direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs influences utilization by exploiting a large and plausibly exogenous shock to DTCA driven by the introduction of Medicare Part D.

Age Differences in Social Decision-Making Preferences and Perceived Ability
Older age was associated with being less likely to prefer social decision-making.
Experts in Aging and Cognition
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Emma Aguila, PhD
Senior Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Professor, USC Price School of Public Policy -
Jennifer A. Ailshire, PhD
Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
2014-2015 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center -
Eileen Crimmins, PhD
Senior Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Dean, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, USC Andrus Gerontology Center
AARP Professor of Gerontology, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Director, USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health -
Susan Enguidanos, PhD, MPH
Senior Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Professor, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology -
Dana Goldman, PhD
Dean and C. Erwin and Ione L. Piper Chair, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
Co-Director, USC Schaeffer Center
Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Pharmacy, and Economics, USC
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Geoffrey Joyce, PhD
Director, Health Policy, USC Schaeffer Center
Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, USC Mann School
Associate Professor, USC Mann School
The Unequal Causes and Costs of Dementia
Alzheimer's disease—and its costs—are not equally borne by all populations.
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