The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA) have chosen Helga Noice, PhD, and Tony Noice, PhD, of Elmhurst College as the 2010 recipients of the Gene D. Cohen Research Award in Creativity and Aging.
This award recognizes and honors the seminal work of Gene Cohen, MD, whose research in the field of creativity and aging shifted the conceptual focus from a problem paradigm to one of promise and potential. Cohen inspired individuals to approach longevity asking what wonders can be achieved, not in spite of age, but because of age. The award is presented annually to a professional whose research in the field of creativity and aging demonstrates these positive attributes.
The award presentation will take place at GSA's 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 19 to 23, 2010, in New Orleans, LA. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process. Visit www.geron.org/2010 for further details.
For over a dozen years, the Noices have been researching the use of theater arts as a means of enhancing healthy cognitive aging. This husband and wife team is ideally equipped to investigate art‐science connections; he is an actor, director, and professor of theater, and she is a cognitive scientist and professor of psychology. Their groundbreaking aging intervention employs multi‐modal (mental-physical‐ emotional‐social) theater acting instruction.
For two decades, they have been conducting experimental studies of how actors learn and retain information. In controlled field studies, they have been teaching theater classes — to older adults — designed to enhance cognitive function and thereby delay cognitive aging.
The Noices have produced 30 peer‐reviewed publications and given more than 40 conference presentations on the connections between the arts and human cognition. In addition, their work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, The Schweizer Nationalfond in Switzerland, and three successive awards from the National Institute on Aging.
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 5,200+ 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.
The National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA) was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to fostering an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging and to developing programs that build on this understanding. Based in Washington, DC, NCCA is a nonprofit with 2,500 members and is affiliated with The George Washington University.