Congratulations to our New Gerontology PhDs

The Gerontology Department at UMass Boston added seven students to its roster of PhDs this past academic year, with three more planning to graduate this summer. The gerontology PhD program now boasts 120 graduates.

“The sheer breadth of our graduating class – from the topics studied to the methods used in their dissertations, to the careers they are about to embark on – is truly a testament to the gerontology PhD program at UMass Boston and its diversity,” says Jeffrey Stokes, PhD, Graduate Program Director in the Gerontology Department at UMass Boston. “This graduating class makes me immensely proud to be the Graduate Program Director, and I’m very confident these graduates will make everyone associated with UMass Boston proud as they bring their skills to bear beyond our university.”

These graduates were part of a historic year, as UMass Boston conferred 134 doctoral degrees—a record—during its commencement ceremony in May. It was also the year when the university was named a top-tier research university, earning a designation as an R1 research institution from the Carnegie Classification.

These gerontology graduates will pursue a diverse range of roles at institutions around the country, at a time when their knowledge is needed to serve an aging population. For example, Laura Driscoll, PhD, who graduated last December, used her dissertation to examine how to deliver care to incarcerated older adults. Today, she works inside a jail in Massachusetts as part of an innovative unit that prepares older men for re-entry. The unit—which she helped develop—is the first of its kind in the state. It includes occupational therapy and cognitive stimulation activities, and it will soon incorporate physical therapy into the unit as well.

“This work is deeply personal and deeply practical,” Driscoll says. “I went back to school for my PhD because I wanted to ask better questions. Now, I’m lucky enough to be living the answers in real time.”

We celebrate our seven new PhDs, and we wish them well in their futures!

Bonnie Albright, PhD

Dissertation: Frailty, Home Accessibility, and Falls in Later Life
What’s Next: Consultant/Data Analyst, Albright Research Consulting, LLC

Cindy Bui, PhD

Dissertation: Older Immigrants’ Long-Term Care Expectations: The Roles of Caregiving Experience, Acculturation and Transnational Ties
What’s Next: Research Data Specialist, California Department of Health Care Access and Information.

Laura Driscoll, PhD

Dissertation: The Provision of Healthcare for Older Adults in a Massachusetts Jail/House of Correction: Perspectives from Provider
What’s Next: Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Faculty Diversity and Inclusion, Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences

Shayna Gleason, PhD

Dissertation: Understanding the People Who Ride and Drive Paratransit
What’s Next: Senior Researcher, International Transportation Learning Center/Transit Workforce Center

Nidya Velasco Roldán, PhD

Dissertation: The Impact of U.S. Migration on the Health of Older Adults in Mexico
What’s Next: Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, University of Massachusetts Boston.

Yan-Jhu Su, PhD

Dissertation: Investigating the Associations of Cognitive Health, Health Behaviors, and Personality in Older Community-Dwelling Adults
What’s Next: More to come!

Kunyu Zhang, PhD

Dissertation: Digital Technology and Loneliness Among Older People: Evidence from the United States and China
What’s Next: Data technology and Cloud Infrastructure Administrator, IBM

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