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Steven E. Arnold, MD, director of the Penn Memory Center  and David Wolk, MD, assistant director of the Penn Memory Center, both recently gave presentations at Surrey Services for Seniors in Devon, PA. Dr. Arnold’s presentation “Conundrums in Research on the Aging Mind” and Dr. Wolk’s presentation, “How Early Can we Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease?” are available for viewing on YouTube. You can find the links below:

Conundrums in Research on the Aging Mind

How Early Can We Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease?

Surrey Services for Seniors is a non-profit organization offering comprehensive resources, services and activities in Broomall, Devon, Haverford and Media, PA. Their mission is to help older adults live at home with independence and dignity and continue as active members of the community. The PMC presentation series at Surrey continues in April and May:

Friday, April 17, 2015 from 9:30 a.m.– 11:00 a.m.

Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Fitness: a Proactive Approach, Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, Ph.D.

How can we maximize our cognitive health as we age? We will review the changes expected with typical aging and how we can use compensatory strategies and changes in behavior to maintain cognitive health.
Friday, May 15, 2015 from 9:30  a.m. – 11:00 a.m 

Caring for the Dementia Caregiver: Promoting self-care to achieve better outcomes for the person with dementia, Felicia Greenfield, LCSW

Family caregivers of people with dementia are at increased risk of adverse health including increased stress, anxiety and depression. Self-care for the caregiver is essential for improving not only the health and well-being of the caregiver, but of the person with dementia as well.

To register for these lectures, please call 610-647-9172.  Lectures are free to the public and are held at:

Surrey Services for Seniors
60 Chestnut Avenue
Devon, PA 19333
610-647-6404

The Institute on Aging will host its Visiting Scholars Series featuring Dr. Ann Marie Kolanowski on April 29, 2015. Dr. Kolanowski will present “Behavioral Health In The Nursing Home: Building A Web One Thread at a Time” at the University of Pennsylvania-Smilow Translational Research Center in the Rubenstein Auditorium at 3:00pm.

To register,  please visit  http://www.med.upenn.edu/aging/event-registration.shtml or call 215-898-7801.  This event is free and open to the public; registration is requested.

The Smilow Translational Research Center is located at 3400 Civic Center Boulevard and the Rubenstein Auditorium is on the 1st floor.  Smilow is adjacent to the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (PCAM).  For driving directions and parking suggestions, please visit: http://www.pennmedicine.org/perelman/visitor_info/directions.html.

In a Philadelphia Inquirer Op-Ed column about novelist Harper Lee and the surprise news that a second novel of hers will soon be published, Jason Karlawish, MD points to the growing public-health problem of older adults with impaired cognition and the potential for exploitation and abuse that can arise. You can read the column here.

Registration has opened for the 2015 Frontotemporal Degeneration Caregiver Conference

The conference will be held on Friday, July 24, 2015 from 8am – 4:30pm in the Biomedical Research Building II/III Lobby and Auditorium.

The Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center invites you to attend a day-long conference for caregivers of persons with FTD and related conditions such as ALS and Corticobasal Degeneration. This conference is open to family caregivers,health professionals, scientists, students and others with an interest in FTD. This conference will include presentations by Dr. Murray Grossman and a team of experts in the field of FTD.

To Register:
There is no charge to attend this event, but space is limited. Pre-registration is required via http://ftd.med.upenn.edu
Program time: 8:00-4:30 PM includes lunch and morning and afternoon refreshments.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to Christine Ray at rayc@mail.med.upenn.edu or 215-349-5873.

Jason Karlawish, MD addressed the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) Annual Conference –  “Creating a Just Economy” – on March 27, 2015 with his presentation, “The Need for Financial Capability to Build Assets and Wealth.” NCRC promotes access to basic banking services to create and sustain affordable housing and job development in underserved communities. To read about the conference, click here.

Members of Penn Memory Center’s caregiver support group are featured in a Wall Street Journal article about the physical and emotional toll on caregivers as the disease progresses in their loved ones. PMC’s Felicia Greenfield, LCSW, leads the group.  You can read the WSJ article here. For information about the support class, please click here.

Tonight, March 11, 2015, is  the night for “The Aging Brain and Alzheimer’s Disease: Let’s Talk About Your Brain” at The Franklin Institute, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Join experts in aging and Alzheimer’s disease from Penn Memory Center for a discussion of the ‪#‎aging‬ brain, ‪#‎Alzheimer‬‘s disease and the impact on families and communities.

Presenters include:
John Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of the Institute on Aging and Co-Director, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania

You can read the Philadelphia Inquirer story here.