CURAC/ARUCC 2022 Conference

Dr. John Helliwell, Professor Emeritus of Economics, UBC

Professor Emeritus of Economics at UBC and Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and Co-Director from 2005 to 2017 of the CIFAR Programme on Social Interactions, Identity, and Well-Being, as well as a founding board member of the International Positive Psychology Association.

In recent years, his interest in social capital and subjective well-being has led him to collaborate on and use measures of subjective well-being from around the world to help understand what makes lives better, with special attention to social factors. He is Editor of the World Happiness Report. Dr. Helliwell will talk about happiness as we continue to grow older.

CURAC/ARUCC Awards Ceremony

Break

Panel discussion on "Wellness and wellbeing as we grow older"

Dr. Martin-Matthews will talk about the heterogeneity over the 30 years or so of what the government designates ‘old age’ and implications for policy.
Dr. Brooks-Wilson will talk about Super Seniors, individuals 85 and older who have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, major pulmonary disease, diabetes or dementia. 
Dr. Gutman will talk about adapting communities to be more liveable to adults as they age, and options for living in the community.

The panelists will all contribute to the general discussion.

Anne Martin-Matthews, PhD, OC, is Professor of Sociology at The University of British Columbia, most recently serving also as Associate Vice-President Health. Over a 40-year career, she has conducted research on social aspects of aging, and health and social care of older people. As Scientific Director of the Institute of Aging of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, she championed creation of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and CIHR’s Summer Program in Aging. She is a member of the Board of AGEWELL: Canada’s Technology and Aging Network, and the Health Data Research Network Canada. She holds honorary degrees from Newcastle University (UK) and Memorial University. In 2018, she was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada, for contributions to advancing research on aging. 

Angela Brooks-Wilson, PhD, is Assoc. VP Research, Simon Fraser University, Professor of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, SFU, Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Distinguished Scientist, BC Cancer Research Centre, BC Cancer Member, Cancer Control Research, BC Cancer, and a distinguished scientist at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. She studies the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers in causing lymphoid cancers. Her interest in cancer is complemented by her work on healthy aging, in which she studies "super seniors”.

Gloria Gutman, PhD, CM. OBC, developed the Gerontology Research Centre and Department of Gerontology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and was Director of both from 1982–2005.  Currently, she’s Research Associate/Professor Emerita at SFU, Vice-President International Longevity Centre-Canada and President, North American Chapter International Society for Gerontechnology. Her awards and honours include Order of British Columbia, LLD (honoris causa- Western University), Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal and Order of Canada for her work “as an international authority in the field of gerontology”. She is author/editor of 23 books. Her research interests include seniors’ housing, long-term care, health promotion, gerontechnology, prevention of elder abuse, advance care planning, and seniors and disasters. She is past president Canadian Association on Gerontology, International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse.