Our mission is to evaluate the connections among the environment, personal characteristics, and meaningful occupations (how one occupies their time) through a multi-disciplinary lens of translational science. This is conducted through training, advocacy, and research on telehealth/technology, health outcomes, and underlying biology with an emphasis on community-based research and maximizing health resources for all.
In the below podcast, Elizabeth Rhodus shares insights into the development behind the Engaged Aging Lab:
Ph.D. in Gerontology from the University of Kentucky
Assistant Professor of Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and Department of Behavioral Science Primary Faculty of Center for Health, Engagement, and Transformation
As an experienced and caring occupational therapist with a passion for helping aging adults, Dr. Rhodus has facilitated an interdisciplinary collaboration through Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. At the University of Kentucky, she has founded their first community-based aging lab: Engaged Aging. Dr. Rhodus’ mission through her lab is to engage older adults in life through: improving Kentucky health care access via Telehealth, detection of health risks and early prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia within various communities, and providing opportunities for clinical trial interventions to those that may benefit most. Engaged Aging brings the most recent healthy aging initiatives of the University of Kentucky directly to members of your communities across Kentucky, which is only possible through partners and caregivers like you!
Favorite Occupations:
Cooking new recipes, because sometimes you just need to slow down and enjoy the moment.
Traveling and enjoying the unique cultures and communities every new place has to offer.
And conducting community outreach and research to best serve those that fuel her passion!
To access Dr. Rhodus’ articles, please see link below:
Masters of Public Health from the University at Buffalo
Kennedy brings to the lab past experience managing both community based research and clinical trial studies as well as several years of community engaged health education/service work. She received both her B.S. and MPH in public health from the University at Buffalo with a focus on qualitative research. She is passionate about building and advocating for healthy communities.
Favorite Occupations:
Spending time with her husband and pets
Knitting or reading in her home
Exploring the natural world
Engaged Aging Occupational Therapist
Laura Henley, MS, OTR/L CDP
Masters in Occupational Therapy from Eastern Kentucky University
Certified Dementia Practitioner
Though 3/4 of us are Occupational Therapists, we hold Laura’s treatment delivery through Engaged Aging’s clinical research at the top! Laura is a licensed occupational therapist in the state of Kentucky who specializes in the delivery of occupational therapy assessments and interventions for older adults, certified especially for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias with behavioral symptoms. For nearly ten years, she has worked in leadership and management positions in addition to providing direct clinical provision with this population. Laura now blesses our lab with her fine tuned knowledge and compassion while implementing the next wave of sensory-based occupational therapy being developed and clinically trialed right here at the Engaged Aging Lab!
Favorite Occupations:
Engaging in all that the outdoors have to offer.
Taking in nature while hiking beautiful new trails.
And of course doing all of these things and more with family!
Interventionist
April Stauffer, MS
April Stauffer has worked with persons living with dementia since 2002. She began serving as a volunteer at the Best Friends Day Center, then worked in a memory care facility where she coordinated all activities for persons with memory loss. For sixteen years she worked for the Alzheimer’s Association, providing outreach as well as education and support to families and individuals living with dementia. She has taught various classes about the disease including general overviews, common behaviors, how to connect, how to communicate, and how to cope. April currently works as a program coordinator for the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. In her role she provides outreach to the community. She has helped to develop the Brain Health Activities program and worked as an interventionist for the Harmony at Home program.Her passion is to be a support for families facing dementia. She enjoys being part of the Harmony at Home program because it allows her to be a support for caregivers who need education and resources. April has a Master’s degree in Family Studies from the University of Kentucky. She currently co-chairs the Dementia Friendly Lexington Advisory Council.
Research Assistant
Clarissa Benzarti, OTD
Clarissa Benzarti is a recent graduate student of NOVA Southeastern located in Clearwater, FL., where she earned her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy degree. Clarissa is a remote research assistant in the Engaged Aging Lab, working under Dr. Elizabeth Rhodus, where she also completed her final capstone project for her degree. Her research interest includes understanding the change in sensory systems of the neurocognitively impaired and how to support aging in place while considering these changes.
Medical Student, Trainee
Brian Carter
Brian Carter is a second-year medical student at UK College of Medicine. Originally from Morehead, KY, his research interests are predominantly in the mystery of the human mind and Alzheimer’s Disease. His current role in the lab is data collection, organization, and categorization.
Favorite Occupations:
Watching UK Athletics (Go Wildcats!)
Photography
Engaged Aging Medical Student, Trainee
Mackenzie Caldwell, BS
Mackenzie Caldwell is a second-year medical student at the University of Kentucky. Originally from Richmond, KY, she received her bachelor’s in biology with a minor in Spanish from the University of Kentucky. She is a member on a UK College of Medicine board, which aligns with her research interest to investigate health differences experienced by Kentuckians. She is passionate about community health for Spanish-speaking immigrant and refugees, and plans to serve such populations as a future physician in Kentucky.
She enjoys volunteering in the local community and currently serves as the community partnerships president on the Lexington Latino Health Advocacy Association. She also leads as one of the community resource coordinators for the Salvation Army Clinic, and mentors elementary students at the Nathaniel Mission’s afterschool program.
Engaged Aging Medcial Student Fellow
Riya Patel, B.S.
Riya is a first-year medical student at the University of Kentucky from Elizabethtown, KY (but she grew up in Stockbridge, Georgia). She graduated from UK last spring with a Dual Degree in Biology and Neuroscience. Growing up, she was always drawn to medicine and the idea of being present for people during both their hardest days and their happiest ones. During her undergraduate years, she discovered new passions that shaped her vision for a career in healthcare. Some of the most meaningful experiences came through the SPARK Program and internships at the Markey Cancer Center, where she learned about health equity and how different patient populations face different challenges on their path to optimal health. As a medical student, she enjoy studying the human body in depth and contributing to the future direction of healthcare in equal measure.
Engaged Aging Medical Student, Trainee
Abbigail Gaugler
Abby is currently a first-year medical student at the University of Kentucky, originally from Paducah, KY. She graduated from Murray State last spring with a Bachelor’s in Pre-Medicine Biology. She spent a few years during her undergraduate education caring for people as a nursing assistant in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. Those experiences solidified her interest in medicine and Alzheimer’s and Dementia research, specifically the behavioral aspects of the disease.
Engaged Aging Laboratory Technician, Trainee
Nancy Wolff, BA
Nancy is a student in UK’s Neuroscience Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program who joined the Engaged Aging Lab late 2024. She graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in Psychology, and she hopes to continue her education to earn a doctorate in Clinical Neuropsychology. As a part of her program, she’s learning about the process of neuroscience research and careers in academia and clinical work. One of the driving passions behind her goal to earn a PhD is to care for people with dementia and their caretakers by designing practical, holistic interventions. In the lab, Nancy works on data organization and outreach coordination.
Favorite Occupations:
Reading great books, mostly fiction
Exploring local coffee shops around Lexington
Spending time with friends and loved ones!
Engaged Aging Laboratory Technician, Trainee
Andrea Hernandez Gonzalez
Andrea is a post-baccalaureate trainee in the Kentucky Alzheimer’s Disease Research Education program at the Sanders Brown Center on Aging. She began her education at Bluegrass Community and Technical College then transferred to the University of Kentucky where she completed a B.A. in Biology and Neuroscience. She is passionate about science, education, and public health and hopes to become a physician and devote her career to improving health in communities across Kentucky.
Her hobbies include fiber arts, crafting, hiking, and reading. She enjoys spending time with her husband, family, and cat Pumpkin. She also volunteer as a Spanish interpreter at Nathaniel Mission and as a child caregiver at Un Abrazo Amigo (a support group for families with disabled children) in Lexington.
