Doctoral student Molly Wylie named inaugural fellow for 2022-23.
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston have partnered to create an Equity in Aging Research Fellowship. The one-year graduate research position supports both organizations’ priorities in advancing research around financial and health security and equity in the aging population.
As a service and advocacy organization focused on healthy living and financial security for older adults, NCOA is guided by its Equity Promise, which includes the goal of improving 40 million lives by 2030 by focusing on “the diverse older adult populations that have experienced the most disadvantages.”
“This fellowship will nurture the next generation of researchers focusing on the intersection of equity and aging,” said Ramsey Alwin, NCOA President and CEO. “Too many Americans have grappled with deep disadvantages throughout their lives, putting aging with dignity out of reach. Research is one of the many tools that can shine a light on this issue and inform policy solutions.”
Molly Wylie, a doctoral student in gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, will serve as the inaugural fellow beginning in September 2022. Wylie will work closely with researchers Marc Cohen, PhD, co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, and Jane Tavares, PhD, an associate lecturer of gerontology at UMass Boston and a research fellow with the LTSS Center.
“This fellowship is a valuable opportunity to build connections outside of the UMass Boston community,” Tavares says. “The position allows a doctoral student to bridge their coursework with hands-on research focused on improving well-being in later life through impactful policy-based solutions. Molly’s experience and the passion she brings for aging research make her a wonderful match for the fellowship.”
Wylie brings experience in data analysis, literature review, survey creation, and podcast development. She served as a research fellow with the LeadingAge LTSS Center in the summer of 2020 and seeks to work at the intersection of applied research and policy.
In a related partnership, NCOA’s Equity in Aging Collaborative recently began working with UMass Boston’s Gerontology Institute to train advocates on using the Elder Index for more accurate, regionally specific benchmarks of economic security. Learn more about the collaborative and the Elder Index.
2 Pingbacks