The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has chosen Madonna Harrington Meyer, PhD, of Syracuse University; Anja K. Leist, PhD, of the University of Luxembourg; and Philipp Hessel, MA, MSc, and Mauricio Avendano, PhD, of The London School of Economics and Political Science as the 2014 recipients of the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Awards.

These distinguished honors recognize insightful and innovative publications on aging and life course development in the behavioral and social sciences. There are two awards — one in the book category and one in the article category —named after social psychologist Richard Kalish, PhD. 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.

University of Luxembourg researcher Anja Leist as well as Philipp Hessel and Mauricio Avendano earned the Kalish Award in the article category for “Do Economic Recessions During Early and Mid-Adulthood Influence Cognitive Function in Older Age?” which appeared in theJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health. This paper considers life-course influences on later-life cognitive function by combining childhood socioeconomic and health conditions with data on economic recessions during working life, associated changes in working conditions, and later-life health and socioeconomic status in order to explain older-age cognitive function. The article is the first to investigate later-life cognitive function by applying a life-course perspective on historical economic situation and individual health and socioeconomic conditions.

Anja Leist is a post-doc research associate in the PEARL Institute for Research on Socio-Economic Inequality (IRSEI) at the University of Luxembourg. Hessel is a research officer in the Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Avendano is the principal research fellow and deputy director at LSE Health in the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Harrington Meyer earned the Kalish Award in the book category for “Grandmothers at Work: Juggling Families and Jobs.” This work explores the stresses and benefits that come from caring for grandchildren by grandmothers who are often fully employed themselves.

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About the GSA

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.

Photo: Anja Leist, PhD