Work with thought leaders and academic experts in advanced specialized nursing

Dr. Kim's program of research aims to identify, understand, and intervene upon the dimensions of psychological well-being (sense of purpose in life, optimism) that reduce the risk of age-related conditions. <br> Around this topic, he has given invited lectures at Universities (Harvard, U. of Penn, MIT, Columbia U.), corporations (UnitedHealth Care, IDEO, AARP, Samsung), and he’s also been invited to speak at and join the working groups of national- and international-think-tanks (United Nations, OECD, Aspen Ideas Festival, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, The Task Force for Global Health, World Government Summit, National Academy of Sciences). He’s also been recognized as one of Forbe’s 30 Under 30 in Healthcare, recipient of the American Journal of Epidemiology's Paper of the Year Award, the American Psychological Association Division 20 (Aging) Early Career Achievement Award, and an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star. His insights have been featured in the: NY Times, Atlantic, BBC News, NPR, Washington Post. His research has been cited by policy statements/guidelines formulated by the: United Nations, National Academy of Sciences, American Heart Association, the U.S. Surgeon General. Population aging is one of the most important social trends of the 21st century. In both Canada and the U.S., the # of adults aged ≥65 is projected to increase by 45%-55% in the next 15 years. As societies grapple with the rising tide of chronic conditions, healthcare costs, and long-term care costs, it is imperative to develop a science that informs a more comprehensive approach to healthy aging. Dr. Kim’s overarching goal is to substantially help improve the psychological well-being and physical health of our rapidly growing population. In pursuit of this goal, his program of research revolves around 4 interwoven questions. He studies: 1) Several dimensions of psychological well-being (sense of purpose in life, optimism) and how they relate to health outcomes. 2) The behavioral, biological, and neural mechanisms underlying the association between psychological well-being and health. 3) How an individual’s psychological well-being interacts with the surrounding environment to influence behavioral and physical health outcomes; for example, at the meso-level (dyadic dynamics in couples, neighborhood contexts, altruism/volunteering) and the macro-level (social cohesion, social and racial disparities). 4) And he partners with non-profit/healthcare companies to conduct translational research that test scalable interventions.

Kathleen Gerson is a leading figure in the field of family sociology and social change. She has been a Collegiate Professor at New York University since 2007. She is the author of over a dozen books, most recently The Unfinished Revolution: How a New Generation Is Reshaping Family, Work, and Gender in America (2010), which has been translated into eight languages. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Professor Sinead McGilloway is Professor of Family and Community Mental Health and Founder Director of the *Centre for Mental Health and Community Research* in the Maynooth University Dept of Psychology and Social Sciences Institute ([www.cmhcr.eu](http://www.cmhcr.eu/)). She is a Chartered Psychologist and Chartered Scientist with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and an Associate Fellow of the BPS. She has extensive experience in undertaking engaged policy- and practice-relevant research with a focus on child and adult mental health and well-being (incl. vulnerable/ marginalised groups), early intervention/prevention and service evaluation. She has won significant research funding to date, is widely published and has won a number of awards, including the Lionel Hersov Memorial (Team) Award by the (UK) Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2022), an Irish Research Council Research Ally prize (2022) and Maynooth University Faculty of Social Sciences Research Achievement Award 2021.