Special Interest Groups
An important goal of the CHAI Research Core is to create a space for dialogue and knowledge exchange among scholars, students and community members around common interests in the field of aging research.
Special Interest Groups bring together individuals with shared interests in a topic or a research method, with the ultimate goal of fostering scholarly collaboration. The groups are self-directed and members can decide to collaborate on a variety of topics, from writing research papers to submitting conference presentations to developing grant ideas and other partnerships.
The are several active Special Interest Groups:
AD/ADRD (led by Kerry Sheets, PhD, Kerry.Sheets@hcmed.org)
The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) SIG is an interdisciplinary group of investigators and clinicians conducting dementia-focused research across diverse settings using a range of research methods.
Dissemination (led by Dr. Allison Gustavson, Allison.Gustavson@va.gov)
The vision of this group is to create a learning space about dissemination and build expertise in the emerging science of dissemination, with the goals of supporting dissemination of aging research to a broad and diverse group of stakeholders.
Early Life Adversity, Stress, & Trauma: Impact on Health in Later Life and the Buffering Effects of Resilience Resources (led by Evan Roberts, PhD, eroberts@umn.edu, and Mustafa al’Absi, PhD, malabsi@d.umn.edu)
This group is co-sponsored by the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation & The Life Course Center.
Financial Decision-Making and Aging (led by Marti DeLiema, PhD, mdeliema@umn.edu)
The financial decision making SIG focuses on how financial capacity changes over the lifecourse. We are interested in new ways to measure these changes and the antecedents and consequences of capacity changes.
Immigrant Aging (led by Manka Nkimbeng, PhD, manka@umn.edu)
The Immigrant Aging SIG is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research at the intersection of migration, culture, and gerontology. Activities are guided by the membership and include collaboration on grants, manuscripts, presentations, and related efforts.
LGBTQ Aging (led by Rajean Moone, PhD, moon0060@umn.edu)
This SIG welcomes individuals conducting research, learning about, or teaching about LGBTQ older adults. The group will meet monthly to network, explore collaborations, and discuss other topics of interest to the members.
Nursing Homes & Senior Care (led by Dr. Rajean Moone, moon0060@umn.edu & Dr. Tetyana Shippee)
This group has been established to create a coordinated network of researchers working in nursing homes and senior care community settings.
Rural Aging (check out the Rural Collective led by Carrie Henning-Smith, henn0329@umn.edu)
Transportation in Aging (led by Laura Hemmy, PhD, hemmy001@umn.edu and Kyle Shelton, PhD, shelt169@umn.edu)
Women in Aging (led by Arshia Kahn, akhan@d.umn.edu)
Advancing research into the unique health challenges women face as they age — from biology and cognition to caregiving, chronic disease, and long-term care.
Are you interested in one of these groups? Reach out to their team leader and attend their next meeting!
Are you interested in starting your own Special Interest Group? If so, please contact chai@umn.edu and let us know!
CHAI Special Interest Groups Outcomes
As part of the Dissemination SIG, Dr. Gustavson and her team summarized their ongoing work in an April 2025 article published in BMJ Open.
Gustavson AM, Urbanski DP, McMahon SK, et al. Advancing the impact of research through a dissemination-focused special interest group. BMJ Open 2025;15:e098130. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098130.
