From left: Dr. Helena Blumen, Dr. Ellie Schoenbaum, Dr. Joe Verghese, and Dr. Roee HoltzerThe 2014 Resnick Winter Research Symposium, hosted by the integrated Divisions of Geriatrics (Medicine) and Cognitive and Motor Aging (Neurology), took place Thursday, December 4th in the Price Center. The symposium is a forum for trainees, residents, fellows and faculty from these divisions to showcase their research activity.
Welcome remarks were delivered by Dr. Roee Holtzer, Associate Professor (Neurology). Dr. Victor Schuster, Senior Vice Dean, Baumritter Chair in Medicine, and Professor of Physiology & Biophysics, delivered the keynote address entitled “Sit Back and Enjoy the Flight”, and faculty and students from the Divisions of Geriatrics and Cognitive and Motor Aging, as well as students from the Ferkauf School of Psychology's Clinical Neuropsychology Program, directed by Dr. Holtzer, presented research in a range of areas (listed below).
2014 Resnick Medical Student Awards in Aging Research were presented to Jaime Schneider and Arjun Seth. These awards were coordinated by Dr. Helena Blumen, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics), and were distributed by Dr. Ellie Schoenbaum, Director of Medical Student Research.
Award winners Arjun Seth and Jaime Schneider, with Dr. Ellie SchoenbaumJaime Schneider, a MD/PhD candidate and trainee in the laboratory of Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo, was awarded the Resnick Gerontology Center Aging Research Award in basic research. Ms. Schneider completed a BA at Northwestern University, and has studied at Harvard University, Jagiellonian University (Poland), and University of Padua (Italy). She is the author of numerous journal articles, including four first-authored, and the recipient of multiple awards, including a Ruth L. Kirschstein Fellowship from the NIH/NIA, the Dennis Shields Memorial Fund Award, a Keystone Syposia Elkes Foundation Scholarship, a Bert L. and N. Kuggie Vallee Foundation Fellowship, and Einstein Emerging Leaders. Ms. Schneider’s research with Dr. Cuervo examines the contributions of chaperone-mediated autophagy to the metabolic syndrome of aging in mouse models and humans.
Arjun Seth, a MD candidate and SOAR scholar at Einstein working under the mentorship of Dr. Sylvia Wasertheil-Smoller, was awarded the Resnick Gerontology Center Aging Research Award in clinical research. Mr. Seth completed a BS at Emory University. He is the author of two journal articles, one first-authored, and has held leadership roles in the Einstein Community Health Outreach (ECHO) Free Clinic and the Einstein Medical Student Council. Mr. Seth’s research, recently published in the journal Stroke, shows that increased potassium intake is associated with a reduced risk for stroke, particularly in post-menopausal women.
One of the aging research presentations.Presentations
Somechukwu Onuoha, M.D.
"Red Blood Cell (RBC) Indices and Quantitative Gait Variables in Older Adults"
Nan Wang, B.S.
"Cerebral microvascular lesions and MCR syndrome: Results from the Kerala-Einstein study"
Atif Afzal, MD
"Determinants Of Post-Ischemic Reactive Hyperemia Tissue Oxygen Saturation In Normal Subjects"
Gilles Allali, MD, PHD
"Mild Parkinsonian Signs in Aging"
Helena Blumen, PHD
"Collaborative Learning and Memory in Young and Old"
Miriam Shapiro, PHD
"Apathy predicts incident slow gait, frailty, and disability in healthy older adults"
Emmeline Ayers, MPH
"Modifiable Risk Factors of Slow Gait in Older Adults"
Daniel Antoniello, MD
"Somatosensory Neglect: Phenomenology and Neuroanatomy"
Wanda Horn, MD
Debbie Greenberg, MSW, PhD
"Quality Improvement Study: Transition Clinic Montefiore Medical Center Division of Geriatrics"
Janna Belser-Ehrlich, M.A.
"Cognitive Status and its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life"
Michelle Chen, B.A.
"fNIRS Coregistration with MRI"
Eleni Demetriou, B.S.
" Verbal Fluency Time Trajectories in Mild Cognitive Impairment"
Kristina Dumas, M.A.
"Multisensory Intergation and Visual-Somatosensory Functioning in Older Adults"
Sarah England, M.A.
"The Association of Walking Turns and Mild Parkinsonian Signs"
Sarah Pillemer, B.A.
"The Differential Relationship of Dimensions of Perceived Social Support with Cognitive Function in Aging"
Elyssa A. Scharaga, M.A.
"Influence of Analgesics on Increased Attention Demands in the Elderly"
Chelsea Schoen, B.S.
"Differential Relationships of Somatic and Cognitive Anxiety with Executive Functions in Older Adults"
Lyanne Yozawitz, B.A.
"The Contribution of Extraversion and Neuroticism to Prevalence and Incidence of Fear of Falling in Elderly Individuals"
Jennifer Yuan, B.A.
"Resting-state functional connectivity and gait under single-and dual-task conditions"
Daniel Santos, MS II
"Physical Activity and Mild Parkinsonian Signs"
The Jack and Pearl Resnick Gerontology Center, founded in 1980 and currently directed by Dr. Joe Verghese, advances broad aspects of aging research among Einstein clinical investigators and basic scientists, promotes interdepartmental collaboration for aging-related endeavors, and enhances education and training related to the care of older adults at Einstein hospitals and outpatient clinics. Jack and Pearl Resnick’s vision anticipated today’s national health concern in the United States: the increasing numbers of older people whose longevity was reaching and even exceeding the biblical four score and ten.