Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue

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Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue

CALC’s mission is to promote aging-related research and education at Purdue University.

The purpose of this group is to support connections between current students, alumni, and faculty of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University, West Lafayette. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the official views of Purdue University. This site may contain links to websites and services outside the Purdue University domain. Purdue University does not e

ndorse, takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the views or content contained on these independent sites, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on them. Purdue University cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the independent site.

09/10/2026

Congratulations to CALC Faculty Associate Laura Murray-Kolb, who has been announced as the first Sharon Rulon Broadhead Head of Nutrition Science! The $2.5 million endowed headship was established through a gift from Purdue HHS alumna Sharon Rulon Broadhead and will support the Department of Nutrition Science as it continues to advance its work in research, education and impact.

To learn more, click here: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/2026/Q3/appointments-honors-and-activities-19/?utm_source=sfmcPT&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=260729PurdueToday&utm_term=Appointments%2c+honors+and+activities&utm_id=1339046

09/09/2026

CALC Faculty Associate Alec Rhodes has received the Best Article Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Mental Health for his 2025 article, “Debt Collection Pressure and Mental Health: Evidence from a Cohort of U.S. Young Adults,” published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

The award recognizes research that makes an important contribution to understanding mental health through a sociological lens. Rhodes's study examines debt collection pressure as a source of stress and finds that it is associated with increased psychological distress among young adults, with particularly significant consequences for low-income individuals.

Congratulations, Alec, on this well-deserved recognition and on advancing research at the intersection of economic inequality, debt, and mental health!

To read the article, see link:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00221465241268477

09/08/2026

CALC Faculty Associate Wenzhuo Wu recently received a patent for an innovative self-powered wearable technology designed to support cardiovascular health monitoring.
The invention uses biocompatible PVA-based triboelectric nanogenerators to enable accurate, wearable, on-demand pulse and cardiovascular monitoring, without requiring an external power source.

To read more, see link:
https://licensing.prf.org/product/biocompatible-pva-blends-for-highperformance-triboelectric-wearables-in-selfpowered-cardiovascular-monitoring

09/03/2026

Congratulations to CALC Faculty Associate Dr. Robbee Wedow on receiving the 2026 ASHG Education Award! The award recognizes outstanding contributions to human genetics education. Dr. Wedow is a co-investigator and instructor of the Humane Genetics Curriculum (HGC), helping advance thoughtful and engaging education in human genetics. We’re proud to celebrate this well-deserved honor.

To read more, see link:
https://www.ashg.org/publications-news/press-releases/ashg-announces-recipients-of-the-2026-professional-awards/?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=August%20Liberal%20Arts%20Lens&utm_id=49906662

09/02/2026

We are pleased to announce that CALC Faculty Associate Jill Suitor received the 2026 Matilda White Riley Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Aging and the Life Course.

Named in honor of pioneering sociologist Matilda White Riley, the Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes exceptional contributions to research, theory, policy, and knowledge about aging and the life course. The award honors Dr. Suitor’s outstanding career accomplishments, including her leadership of the Within-Family Differences Study, which investigates the relationships between parents and their adult children and grandchildren and between siblings in adulthood. Congratulations, Dr. Suitor, on this well-deserved distinction.

09/01/2026

CALC graduate student Bohyun Ro graduated this summer with the dual-title PhD in Health & Kinesiology and Gerontology. Her dissertation, “Physiological adaptations to heat therapy in aging and metabolic disease,” explores the capacity of heat therapy to induce skeletal muscle adaptations and identifies key limitations in translating these changes to functional improvement. Congratulations, Dr. Ro!

08/27/2026

CALC Faculty Associate Ellen Kossek and colleagues published their latest research in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Their article, "Offering Paid Sick and Family Leave is Not Enough: Leave Supportive Supervisor Behavior Training Improves Policy Use, Health and Work Outcomes," reports findings from a National Institutes of Health-funded randomized clinical trial examining how training supervisors to actively support employees' use of paid sick and family leave can improve policy utilization, employee health, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The research demonstrates that offering leave policies alone is not enough. Supervisor support is essential to helping employees access and benefit from these workplace resources.

This publication represents years of collaborative work, from the initial grant funding and pilot studies through pandemic-related delays and a rigorous peer-review process. During the project, the research team also experienced the heartbreaking loss of a valued co-author and colleague, Jiayun Xu, making the publication especially meaningful.

To access the no-cost Leave Supportive Supervisor Behavior (LSSB) Training referenced in the publication, please see here: https://centers.purdue.edu/cff/research/supervisor-support-trainings/.

08/26/2026

Please join us Friday, September 11, 2026, from 12:30-1:25 pm in STEW G52 or via Zoom for our CALC Colloquium Series featuring Shiro Furuya, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, presenting on “Health Consequences of Working and Not-Working for Older Adults.”

See here to RSVP by September 9: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5gsLQqFJPfhiDcO.

08/25/2026

CALC dual-title PhD student Freddie Peng (Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences/Gerontology) is the first author of a newly published study in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

The paper, "Characterizing Submental Neuromuscular Activity of Swallowing Rehabilitation: An Electromyographic Evaluation of Rehabilitative Maneuvers in Healthy Adults," examines how commonly used swallowing rehabilitation exercises differ in their underlying neuromuscular activation. Using wearable surface electromyography (sEMG), the research provides new insights into how specific swallowing maneuvers may target muscle power, strength, coordination, and endurance, advancing a more mechanism-based approach to dysphagia rehabilitation.

This important contribution to swallowing rehabilitation research will positively impact the roughly 1 in 25 people who have this medical condition.

To read more, see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42467646/

08/19/2026

CALC-affiliated researchers Wei-Lin Xue, Zach Hass, Libby Richards, Kathy Abrahamson, and Marian Liu recently authored the publication, "Interpersonal Relationship Quality and Likelihood of Elder Mistreatment," published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Drawing on longitudinal data from 796 community-dwelling older adults, the study found that strained interpersonal relationships were associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing physical, psychological, and financial elder mistreatment over time. The findings emphasize the importance of assessing relationship quality and strengthening supportive social networks to help prevent elder mistreatment and promote the safety and well-being of older adults.

Dr. Xue is a 2025 graduate of the CALC dual-title PhD in Nursing/Gerontology and is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at Case Western Reserve University. Zach Hass, Libby Richards, Kathy Abrahamson, and Marian Liu are CALC Faculty Associates

To read more see link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02654075261446769

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