Healthy Aging laB
Everyone living in the Circumpolar North should have the opportunity to live a long and healthy life. However, we live in an environment that can be challenging as we get older. The physical environment may be difficult to navigate (extreme weather, changing climate, high costs of living, etc) but it is important to remember that the social environment also changes for us as we age. As more adults are choosing to age-in-place and retire at home here in Alaska, we are noticing real gaps in our knowledge about what healthy aging means to our elders and how we can achieve it in our Arctic environment.
The Healthy Aging Lab at UAA works to understand the shifting sociocultural landscape for aging adults and identify service needs to facilitate healthy aging-in-place. We do this in a variety of ways, from Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) projects, to community-engaged courses in health sciences, to individual service-learning projects—our work aims to benefit not only the student (and future geriatric workforce), but the senior community as well.
FEATURED PROJECTS
NEWS & Stories
Jessica Ross, an alumni of UAA's dental hygiene program and current assistant professor in the Department of Human Services, was recently honored with the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award. The award recognizes emerging leaders in higher education who demonstrate a commitment to innovation, equity, and community engagement.
Human Services alumna Billie Slaikeu knows a thing or two about what it means to start over. A retired certified nursing assistant, Billie returned to school in her sixties after being inspired by her daughter’s experience with mental illness. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2025.
UAA hosts its first Native Heritage Month celebration, inviting students and community members to honor Alaska Native culture and resilience.
When human services and social work alumna Cass Pook says she has always been a helper, she’s not just referring to her nature as an empathetic and compassionate listener. “Culturally, it's in my DNA to be a helper,” said Pook. “Looking back on it throughout history, 100 or 200 years ago I would have been doing the same thing. I was born to be a social worker.”
After serving a year as the President-elect of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Yvonne Chase is now the president. Dr. Chase shares some of her vibrant background in human services that led her to UAA.
The UAA Healthy Aging Research Laboratory is partially supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under grant number 2P20GM103395. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of Alaska INBRE.
Upcoming Events
Contact Us:
Associate Professor Britteny Howell
Phone: (907) 786-6565
Email: bmhowell2@alaska.edu
UAA Professional Studies Building
2533 Providence Dr., Suite 204
Anchorage, AK 99508
Mailing Address:
UAA Healthy Aging Lab
3211 Providence Dr., PSB 206B
Anchorage, AK 99508
