Trent Centre for Aging & Society

06/02/2026

Watch TCAS Executive Dr. Sally Chivers deliver the 2025-2026 CAH Distinguished Public Lecture, "Don't Panic! It's Just Aging", to a packed audience on March 5, 2026.

“We’re surrounded by messages that tell us to fear getting old. It’s tempting to reassure ourselves by staying active, planning well, and building good connections. These are all very helpful steps to take. But what if we thought about it differently? Drawing from her podcast, Wrinkle Radio, that blends academic insight with personal storytelling, Professor Sally Chivers explores how fearmongering about grey hair and demographic bulges gets in the way of a meaningful public conversation about understandable fears of growing old. The talk got to the heart of what can be scary about aging, and why there’s no reason to panic.”

"Don't Panic! It's Just Aging."Dr. Sally Chivers (Trent University...

05/29/2026

Statistics Canada’s Eh Sayers podcast has published an episode entitled The Grey Anatomy of Canada: The Story Behind Canada’s Aging Population

Canada’s population is getting a makeover, and it is changing the way Canadians live. Eh Sayers is digging into new demographic data with Patrick Charbonneau, Section Chief in the Centre for Demography at Statistics Canada, to see how big boomer and millennial generations, plus fewer younger people, are shaking up demand for housing, schools and health care.

They also look at the rise of the sandwich generation, the caregiving squeeze that comes with longer lives and smaller families, and the many ways older Canadians keep things running through volunteering, child care and family support.

Canada’s population is getting a makeover, and it is changing the way we live. We are digging into new demographic data with Patrick Charbonneau, Section Chief in Demography at Statistics Canada, to see how big boomer and millennial generations, plus fewer younger people, are shaking up demand...

05/20/2026

New Graduate Fellowship Opportunity!

We’re excited to share a new funding opportunity for PhD students interested in health systems change and participatory research.

The 1st Annual Paul Holyoke Graduate Fellowship in Participatory Health Services Research, offered through the SE Research Centre, supports emerging scholars committed to advancing meaningful engagement with experts-by-experience in health research.

This fellowship will provide recipients with the opportunity to develop both knowledge and practical skills in participatory health services research, while contributing to a growing community of researchers focused on equity in health and social care across Canada.

Application deadline: May 31, 2026

To learn more and apply, use the link below:

https://sehc.com/news/paul-holyoke-graduate-fellowship-participatory-health-services-research

We encourage eligible PhD students to explore this opportunity and share it within their networks.

05/08/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlk8PU6doIg

On the Move! is a unique exercise program offered to people living with Parkinson’s in Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes

On The Move! classes will start again in October 2026.

The program follows these five evidence-based principles:

1. it encourages participants safely to a higher level of exertion,

2. it incorporates movement repetition set to fun music to allow participants to benefit from cyclic, rhythmic movements,

3. it incorporates many big movements that challenge participants to expand their range of motion, safely test their balance limits, and build core strength,

4. it encourages participants to learn complex movements and sequences that challenge coordination, attention, and memory,

5. and we have a lot of fun!

Learn more about On the Move! here:

https://actlab.squarespace.com/otm

Led by Professor Liana Brown, Trent University.

Learn more about Liana here:

https://www.trentu.ca/psychology/faculty-research/liana-brown-profile

Video created by Brooke Ambury, Mikayla Smith, and Benjamin Darkwa as a component of their graduate course "Professional Practice in Knowledge Mobilization", taught by Dr. Elizabeth Russell in Winter, 2026.

Learn more about On the Move! here: https://actlab.squarespace.com/otmLed by Professor Liana Brown, Trent University. Learn more about Liana here: https://ww...

04/30/2026

Check out these new promotional videos on our Master’s of Interdisciplinary Aging Studies graduate program!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1TT3FxszUJ58MN0VCsY-xSmRgM3Qkjnm&si=LkcZLys5zT6E_pcU

Videos created by Brooke Ambury, Benjamin Darkwa, and Mikayla Smith, students in the MA AGNG, as a component of AGNG 5003, Professional Practice in Knowledge Mobilization (Winter, 2026) taught by Dr. Elizabeth Russell

To learn more about Trent's new Master's in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies Graduate Program, please check out https://www.trentu.ca/aging/ma-interdisciplinary-aging-studies or email [email protected]

Videos to share about our MA in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies (MA AGNG) graduate program! To learn more about Trent's new Master's in Interdisciplinary Agi...

04/21/2026

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is pleased to announce the 2026 UArctic Webinar Series, designed to explore key issues affecting the Arctic and Northern communities.

As a network of universities, colleges, research institutes, and other organizations, UArctic supports collaboration for education and research in and about the North.

This Webinar Series will bring together experts, researchers, and community leaders to discuss ethics in Northern and Indigenous research, the community impacts of small and Northern institutions, arctic waste, and arctic security.

The first webinar is:
Ethics in Northern Indigenous Research

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/webinar-1-ethics-in-northern-and-indigenous-research-tickets-1985382317958?aff=oddtdtcreator

Moderator and Panelists TBD
April 22, 2026 | 2:00 PM NST

- Ethical frameworks for research in Northern contexts

- Indigenous research governance and community leadership

- Building long-term relationships and trust

- Institutional responsibilities and best practices

Please stay tuned for upcoming webinars taking place in June, September, and November 2026!

04/21/2026

Queering Dementia: Current Research on LGBTQ+ People Living with Dementia

This online symposium brings together current international scholarship on LGBTQ+ people living with dementia. Speakers include: Chris Maddocks, Louisa Smith, Marjorie Silverman, Alexandre Baril, Toni Calasanti, Arne Stinchcombe, Linn J. Sandberg, and Anna Siverskog.

The symposium is organised by Professor Linn J. Sandberg and D.r Anna Siverskog, Södertörn University, in collaboration with the Critical Dementia Studies Network.

This online symposium takes place on April 22nd, 2026 at 2PM-4:30PM GMT and is free of charge and open to everyone. To read more about the symposium and information on how to register, use the link below:

https://memoryfriendly.org.uk/programmes/critical-dementia-network/activities-and-events/queering-dementia-current-research-on-lgbtq-people-living-with-dementia/

04/14/2026

This talk takes place on Friday, April 17, 2026, 9am-10am PT on Zoom, and foregrounds the voices of Black grandmothers who raise their grandchildren in skipped-generation households (without parents living in the home). This is one of the many ways Black grandmothers hold families and communities together in environments that may not support their stability.

Dr. Pittman shows how their role as primary caregivers is borne out of love and struggle. She demonstrates that contemporary Black grandmothers’ experiences deviate from their historic counterparts in significant ways, including

1) their grandchildren’s circumstances have changed,

2) they confront increased demand to legalize their relationships with grandchildren, and

3) they must manage the threat of their grandchildren ending up in the child welfare system.

While based on a study in Chicago, the implications of her research will resonate with experiences of Black grandmothers throughout and beyond the U.S.

Use the link below to register:

https://trentu.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=801c3848b0ba18fd79be28eaa&id=dfb527288f&e=e559ba8adf

Dr. Pittman is an Associate Professor of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the Joff Hanauer Honors Professor in Western Civilization and has an appointment in the Department of Sociology. Dr. Pittman’s book Grandmothering While Black: A Twenty-First Century Story of Love, Coercion and Survival explores the complex lives of Black grandmothers raising their grandchildren in skipped-generation households (without parents living in the home).

To learn more about Dr. Pittman, use the link below:

https://trentu.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=801c3848b0ba18fd79be28eaa&id=13f5283955&e=e559ba8adf

04/08/2026

As part of their postdoc at U of Guelph, Dr. An Kosurko is bringing a research project “Improvising With Dementia” here to Peterborough and would like to share the opportunity and recruit participants.

This Friday, April 10th, a workshop is taking place at Artspace PTBO from 6-8PM with Linda Kash and local artists.

Join this creative, collaborative research project using music, art, dance, and conversation to explore how everyday creativity and Improvising with Dementia supports connection and care.

Use the link below for additional information and to register

https://www.ankosurko.ca/improvising-dementia

OR

contact Dr. Kosurko at [email protected]

04/06/2026

The CIHR Institutes of Aging and Population and Public Health, on behalf of the Federal Table on Healthy Cities, are please to invite you to an upcoming webinar: Aging in Cities: Research Findings and Policy Implications from Physical Independence to Social Connectedness.

This webinar takes place April 8th, 2026 at 1:30PM - 2:30PM ET.

You will hear from three researchers whose work highlights the importance of accessibility and inclusion in strengthening physical independence and social connectedness among older adults in urban settings. Their research speaks to how city-based programs and policies can be designed to be more responsive and equitable for diverse aging populations, contributing to healthier cities overall.

Presenters for the Federal Table panel discussion include:

Dr. Rachel Savage, Women’s College Hospital

Reimagining Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) for 21st Century Cities: What Works Best to Support Older Adults to Age in Place?

Dr. Heather McKay, University of British Columbia

Healthy Aging - Choose to Move program

Dr. Danielle Bouchard, University of New Brunswick

Musculoskeletal health, mobility or prevention: Understanding how to Attract, Adapt, IMplement and Sustain an evidence-informed fall prevention exercise program in Community Settings: The AAIMS project.

This panel is open to all, to register, please use the link below!

ab4b8035-0aed-4c24-8faf-153aacea4c5a@1ebfccd6-7d44-4806-8ffc-bb521f3acc24" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ab4b8035-0aed-4c24-8faf-153aacea4c5a@1ebfccd6-7d44-4806-8ffc-bb521f3acc24