News Release

Löckenhoff earns GSA's 2014 Baltes Foundation Award

Grant and Award Announcement

The Gerontological Society of America

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen Corinna E. Löckenhoff, PhD, of Cornell University as the 2014 recipient of the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology.

This distinguished honor, given annually, recognizes outstanding early career contributions in behavioral and social gerontology. Individuals who have received their doctorate within the last ten years are eligible. The award is given by GSA in conjunction with the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation.

The award presentation will take place at GSA's 67th Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 5 to 9 in Washington, DC. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process. Visit http://www.geron.org/annualmeeting for further details.

Löckenhoff is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development at Cornell University, where she also serves as director of the Laboratory for Healthy Aging. She has published over 35 refereed journal articles, many in the flagship journals in psychology and aging. Her groundbreaking research revolves around age differences in socioemotional functioning and their implications for health-related decision making and outcomes. Recently she has focused on translating findings from laboratory-based decision-making paradigms to real-world healthcare settings.

Her work also has major implications for understanding barriers to optimal decision making among older adults and their loved ones who are facing challenging choices in the face of life-threatening illnesses. A driving theme throughout her career is the belief that the foundations for healthy aging begin early in life and her work takes a holistic view of life-long health. As such, her research program focuses on the role of stressful life events, social relationships, and balancing present and future well-being.

Löckenhoff has embraced interdisciplinary approaches in pursuing this agenda, collaborating with sociologists and geriatrician researchers in her work. Thus, at an early career stage, she has made major contributions to the understanding of age differences in time horizons, personality, and emotion. In addition, she has done fundamental research on life-long trajectories in personality traits and social cognition. Particularly notable, Loeckenhoff's work has shed new light on the impact of these phenomena on mental and physical health, with attention to cultural differences.

Löckenhoff received her undergraduate degree from the University of Marburg in Germany and a PhD from Stanford University. She completed postdoctoral training at the National Institute on Aging.

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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA's structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.


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