The Center for Equity in Aging Travel Award
This purpose of this award is to provide a financial award to distinguished students and post-doctoral students of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing who have been invited to present their aging and/or palliative care related scholarly works at a domestic or international conference.
Each recipient of this award will receive up to $750 to support travel expenses (i.e., hotel, airfare, registration) from the Center for Equity in Aging (CEA).
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Recipients will be notified of their award within two weeks of application submission. Applicants are limited to one award.
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
Be a current student in good academic standing or a post-doc at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
Be the lead author or the presenting person on an abstract submission accepted for poster and/or oral presentation at a domestic or international conference
The accepted abstract must be related to a CEA topic of interest including but not limited to: aging, geriatrics, dementia, and/or palliative care. Please contact the CEA if you are unsure if your abstract topic qualifies for this award
Must agree to present your accepted work at a CEA-supported event within 6 months of attending the conference
Provide a brief synopsis of your conference experience along with a photo at the conference for use on the CEA website and/or social media
All award applications must include the letter of abstract acceptance from the conference organizers.
Please contact the CEA at [email protected] if you have any questions about the application process.
Click Here for Application
Travel Awardees
2024
Attending the GSA 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle was an incredible opportunity to present my poster on the role of social support in moderating the relationship between cognitive function and daily functioning. Engaging discussions with attendees provided valuable feedback to refine my research for publication.
I was also inspired by sessions on social determinants and social capital, sparking new ideas for future projects using national datasets like HRS and NHATS. Additionally, I connected with esteemed scholars, expanding my professional network and fostering potential collaborations.
I am deeply grateful to the Travel Grants – Center for Equity in Aging for making this experience possible.
It was an incredible opportunity to join fellow nurse scientists and mentors at the Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum (GCNLF) in Hungary. I had the privilege of presenting on “Challenges in cardiovascular disease Prevention for Nursing: Exemplars of Innovation” and engaging with experts committed to advancing cardiovascular health. I highlighted key challenges in cardiovascular disease prevention and the critical role of nurses in driving innovative interventions, drawing insights from my cardiovascular disease risk management program in Ghana, which leveraged a team-based care model to establish nurse-led hypertension clinics.
I had the opportunity to connect with the leadership of the GCNLF, including Dr. Laura Hayman, Sue Koob, and renowned speakers; Dr. Salim Virani, M.D., Ph.D., FACC, FAHA, FASPC, and Monica Parry, MEd, MSc, NP-Adult, PhD, FAAN, FCAN. It was exciting to exchange ideas on how global efforts can strengthen cardiovascular disease prevention and improve health outcomes worldwide.
On a personal level, I remain deeply committed to my passion for helping populations minimize their cardiovascular disease risk, which aligns with my doctoral dissertation on team-based care for hypertension control in under-resourced settings.
I am grateful to the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and the GCNLF for this opportunity and their dedication to supporting early-career nurse scientists in cardiovascular disease prevention. Thanks to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Equity in Aging for their support in making this experience possible.
This November, I had the amazing opportunity to attend and present at Gerontological Society of America 2024 Annual Scientific meeting in Seattle, WA for the first time!
My presentation, titled “Inclusive Cross-Cultural Learning: End of Life Critical Care Across Korean And American Literature” was a scoping review based on cross-cultural comparison of literature bodies in two countries. The aim was to contribute to identifying gaps and drawing implications for more inclusive end-of-life research in critical care settings, particularly for Koreans residing in Korea and Korean American immigrants in the United States.
I am deeply grateful to the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the Center of Equity in Aging for their support, which enabled me to participate in this global conference. This experience not only allowed me to learn from brilliant aging scholars from around the world but also gave me the chance to connect with peers conducting research in similar fields, truly an inspiring experience. Hearing about innovative projects in aging and palliative care grounded in diverse methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches was truly inspiring and further reinforced my commitment to this area of research.
The conference was an invaluable opportunity to exchange ideas, broaden my perspective, and gain insights that will shape my future work. I’m excited about advocating for the palliative care needs and experiences of patients and families at the intersection of serious illness and underserved communities. As I continue my PhD journey, I look forward to building my research in aging, palliative, and end-of-life care by using human-centered, participatory co-design methodology. My goal is to support and develop culturally sensitive, patient-centered palliative care services that address the unique needs of underserved communities. I hope to contribute to equitable healthcare research and practices and improve the quality of life for patients and families as they navigate critical communication and decision-making moments during their care journeys.
Synopsis of conference experience
I recently had the opportunity to present a poster at the Gerontological Society of America’s 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting. The conference was an enriching experience, providing a platform to engage with peers and experts in the field of aging. My presentation was titled “Key Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Cognitive Domains for Targeted Intervention in Non-Demented Older Adults: A Network Analysis Based on a United States National Study.”
During the conference, I presented findings from our study, which utilized network analysis to identify central and bridge variables within and between clusters of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) and cognitive domains. The analysis revealed critical areas such as meal preparation, visual attention, and shopping, which can be targeted to enhance daily living and cognitive functions holistically.
Participating alongside my mentor’s team (Dr. Junxin Li), I engaged in thoughtful discussions and received valuable feedback that underscored the importance of gender-tailored interventions in our approaches and highlighted other interesting potential topics for future research. The conference not only broadened my understanding of gerontology but also allowed me to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on improving the quality of life for older adults through targeted interventions.
The conference served not only as a forum for sharing knowledge but also as a remarkable opportunity for networking. I was able to connect with many researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds, which opened up new avenues for collaboration and knowledge exchange. These connections are invaluable as they will help foster collaborations that could lead to innovative approaches and research projects.
The interactions and insights gained at this event will undoubtedly influence my future research and professional endeavors in the field of aging.
The Gerontological Society of America (2024) conference was a fantastic experience where I had the opportunity to present two papers, and it was one of the most impactful networking experiences at a conference to date. In the acute care session, I presented “Age as a Predictor of Burn-Related Outcomes in Older Adults in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.” It was a great first session and allowed me to chair for the first time at a conference. I felt extremely nervous as this was a paper developed during my time in one of the School of Public Health classes. The session presenters and audience members were all immensely supportive and provided a lot of great insights. While we were not all discussing the same subject area, it was great to see the breadth of the field.
In my second presentation, I presented on Dr. Junxin Li’s Sound Study – “Experiences of Music Listening among Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.” I learned a lot from the fellow-presenters who were discussing similar non-pharmacological tools, and the audience members involved in music therapy work themselves.
The whole of this conference offered a large number of networking opportunities. Meeting with several attendees post-GSA allowed me to reflect deeply on the knowledge gaps and ideas raised during the sessions and informal discussions. These interactions have inspired me to think critically about how to integrate the insights I gained—from presentations, posters, and conversations—into my ongoing work as a PhD student.
I am especially grateful for the incredible support from the Center for Equity in Aging, which made this invaluable experience possible.
2023
As an early career palliative care researcher, attending the AAHPM Annual Assembly was an incredible opportunity to present my dissertation research and learn from other researchers and clinicians who are also passionate about palliative care. In addition, I was able support two of my PhD colleagues from Johns Hopkins by attending their podium presentations! I also had the opportunity to meet several of researchers in person whose work has been incredibly influential to me, including Dr. Dio Kavalieratos and Dr. Shelli Feder. Through formal and informal networking, I connected with other palliative care researchers and clinicians from the University of Colorado where I will be a postdoctoral fellow in palliative care and aging this fall. It was so rejuvenating and energizing to attend AAHPM and learn from palliative care colleagues across a variety of institutions and specialties! I’m encouraged by the diversity of innovative research and clinical initiatives which promote quality of life for patients and their families across the lifespan. I’m incredibly grateful to the Center for Equity in Aging for the financial support to attend!
I attended The Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care in Montréal Canada. It was a great honor to be selected to present the qualitative aim of my dissertation research in a 15-minute podium presentation entitled “The Context, Barriers, and Facilitators of Informal Advance Care Planning in Black Adults with Kidney Failure”. This was my first time attending this conference and it was absolutely amazing to be in the presence of so many like-minded researchers who are focused on improving end-of-life care for all. The main benefit of attending the conference was to network with other researchers, meeting one of my mentors, Dr. Justin Sanders, in person for the first time, and disseminating some of the results from my dissertation research.