The Leighton E. Cluff Award for Aging Research
[Please see the bottom of this page for a list of some previous winners, and example papers]
Purpose: The purpose of this award is to increase student interest in aging through scholarly investigation and research on issues related to older adults and the aging process. Students are encouraged to examine any topic within the fields of gerontology and geriatrics, broadly defined.
Eligibility:
Undergraduate students, Graduate students, or Professional Students
(including medical residents or postdoctoral students) enrolled or
working at the University of Florida for at least one term of the three
preceding terms prior to submission.
Submission
materials: Appropriate projects include empirical studies,
scholarly reviews, or other creative works that address any topic
related to late life, aging, or older adults. Submissions should
be no more than 25 pages, including a cover page, a description of the
student’s experiences in aging-related activities, as well as the
complete paper and references. Specific details of the allowable format
and full specifications concerning the application are distributed each
year several months before the submission deadline. Please obtain a
copy to ensure that your submission meets the guidelines.
Review
Process and Awards: A faculty review committee annually
makes one award for the best paper in the Graduate and Professional
category ($1200) and one award for the best Undergraduate paper ($600).
Deadline:
Papers are due annually in late February or early March. Watch for
announcements each year that provide exact deadlines. For further
information, contact the award coordinator, Dr. Robin West at rwest.geron@gmail.com
2008
Winners:
- Graduate paper: Paul Perrin, Psychology (Mentor: Dr. Martin Heesacker), Structural Equation Modeling Of The Relationship Between Caregiver Psychosocial Variables And Functioning Of Individuals With Stroke
- Undergraduate
paper: Andrea Pe Bonito,
Nursing (Mentor:
Dr. Meredeth Rowe), Sleep Poverty In Caregivers Of Individuals
With Alzheimer's Disease
- Institute
for Learning in Retirement Graduate paper: Annesha Lovett, Health Services
Research (Mentor:
Dr. Robert Weech-Maldonado), An Assessment Of Nursing Services Provided
To Assisted Living Facilities: A Transaction Cost Approach
- Institute for Learning in Retirement Undergraduate paper: Sarah Ainsworth, Psychology (Mentor: Dr. Susan Bluck), Autobiographical Memory Sharing: A Tool For Increasing Empathy
2007
Winners:
- Graduate
paper: Jacqueline Baron,
Psychology (Mentor:
Dr. Susan Bluck), Age and gender differences in
autobiographical memory sharing: Who tells better stories?
- Undergraduate
paper: Heather Brooke Edwards,
Psychology (Mentor:
Dr. Robin L. West), Need for cognition, intelligence, and aging
- Institute
for Learning in Retirement Graduate paper: Kezia D. Awadzi,
Rehabilitation Sciences (Mentor:
Dr. Sherrilene Classen), Predictors of injury among younger and
older adults in fatal motor vehicle crashes
- Institute
for Learning in Retirement Undergraduate paper: Heather L. McGinty, Psychology (Mentor: Dr. Robin L. West),
Improvement, maintenance, or decline:
Exploring the quality of health-related possible selves in an aging
population
