Minding Memory

Michigan Medicine Podcast Network
  • 4.4 (7)
  • MEDICINE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Welcome to Minding Memory. In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros. We start with some basics, like: What exactly is dementia? What are the different types of dementia? What is the TICS, if not a swarm of blood-sucking insects?  But we also invite researchers on to discuss their interesting work to give you a glimpse at the questions, data, and methods moving the field forward.    Minding Memory is co-hosted by Matthew Davis and Lauren Gerlach. Matt and Lauren are health services researchers and professors at the University of Michigan. Matt’s PhD is in Data Science and Lauren is a geriatric psychiatrist. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) at the University of Michigan, supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Additional support also comes from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The content of this podcast does not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Michigan. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and make sure to check out our website. On our website you’ll also find links to the center’s seminar series and data products created specifically for dementia research.  You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Addressing Senior Social Isolation in the Community

    4D AGO

    Addressing Senior Social Isolation in the Community

    In this episode, Matt & Lauren build off their previous conversation with Ashwin Kotwal about social isolation by speaking with Eve Lefkowitz, the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, A Conversation to Remember, which connects older adults – including those who live with cognitive decline – with young adult college students to combat the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness.  Lauren & Matt learn about the populations this non-profit serve as well as perspectives on how to address social isolation with older adults.    Episode Transcript Resources: c2r.chat: Conversations to Remember You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
  2. The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on Cognitive Health

    APR 20

    The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on Cognitive Health

    In this episode we're going to discuss a topic that's increasingly recognized as central to cognitive health and social connection. We'll define what it is and what happens when it's missing. Social isolation and loneliness are now widely discussed as public health concerns, and evidence has really mounted that social disconnection has profound effects on health, including cognitive decline and dementia risk. To help us think through this, we're joined by Dr. Ashwin Kotwal, a geriatrician and health services researcher at UCSF and the director of the Social Connections and Aging Lab. His work examines how social relationships shape aging related outcomes, including cognitive health, disability, and mortality.  The transcript for this episode can be found here. Additional Links:    Ashwin Kotwal Faculty Profile  Social Connections & Aging Lab @ UCSF    Relevant Articles:   Kotwal AA, Cenzer IS, Yaffe K, Perissinotto C, Smith AK. End-of-life health care use among socially isolated and cognitively impaired older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023 Mar;71(3):880-887. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18131. Epub 2022 Nov 23. PMID: 36420540; PMCID: PMC10023302.    Kotwal AA, Allison TA, Halim M, Garrett SB, Perissinotto CM, Ritchie CS, Smith AK, Harrison KL. "Relationships, Very Quickly, Turn to Nothing": Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Adaptation to Changing Social Lives Among Persons Living With Dementia and Care Partners. Gerontologist. 2024 Apr 1;64(4):gnae014. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnae014. PMID: 38499400; PMCID: PMC10948338.    Kotwal AA, Cenzer I, Hunt LJ, Ankuda C, Torres JM, Smith AK, Aldridge M, Harrison KL. Psychosocial distress among spouses of persons with dementia before and after their partner's death. J Am Geriatric Soc. 2024 Aug;72(8):2336-2346. doi: 10.1111/jgs.19030. Epub 2024 Jun 1. PMID: 38822746; PMCID: PMC11323186.  You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min
  3. Convoys of Caregiving: Arab American Families Living with Dementia

    APR 6

    Convoys of Caregiving: Arab American Families Living with Dementia

    In this episode, Matt & Lauren speak with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD - a new member of our CAPRA leadership team. Kristine is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research whose work focuses on aging, health, immigration and family in the United Statues and the Middle East; social networks over the life course; and Arab American identity and well-being.    Kristine discusses a recent article that examined an intervention to improve outcomes among Arab American caregivers who provide care to a family member living with dementia. She also shares what this work teaches us about caregiving as a family system rather than the responsibility of a single individual.   The transcript for this episode can be found here.   Link of Interest:  Kristine Ajrouch Faculty Profile    Article referenced in podcast:  Ajrouch KJ, Barada FM, Janevic MR, Antonucci TC. Supporting Arab-American Families Living With Dementia: Testing a Culturally Adapted Program. J Appl Gerontol. 2025 Apr;44(4):515-519. doi: 10.1177/07334648241281153. Epub 2024 Sep 23. PMID: 39313309.  You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    40 min
  4. Neighborhood Income and Cognitive Health

    MAR 23

    Neighborhood Income and Cognitive Health

    Welcome back to Minding Memory! In today’s episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Dr. Laura Zahodne – a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan and an affiliate of the Institute for Social Research. She's a clinical neuropsychologist by training and studies how psychosocial experiences shape late life, cognitive health, and risk of neurodegenerative disease.  Also, a new member of our CAPRA leadership team!      In this episode, we’ll get to know Laura a little better and talk with her about one of her research studies, the Neighborhood Racial Income Inequality in Cognitive Health, which looks at the association between racial income differences and a variety of cognitive measures.  The transcript for this episode can be found here.   Links of Interest:   Laura Zahodne Faculty Profile   Introduction to the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project    Articles Referenced in Podcast:  Zahodne LB, Sol K, Scambray K, Lee JH, Palms JD, Morris EP, Taylor L, Ku V, Lesniak M, Melendez R, Elliott MR, Clarke PJ. Neighborhood racial income inequality and cognitive health. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Aug;20(8):5338-5346. doi: 10.1002/alz.13911. Epub 2024 Jun 27. PMID: 38934219; PMCID: PMC11350017.    Hu Y, Elliott MR, Meier HCS, Chen L, Walters ME, Sol K, Zahodne LB. The impact of census-tract level mortgage discrimination on cognitive function: accounting for measurement instability in small-area data via joint modeling. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Nov 4;194(11):3258-3266. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwaf131. PMID: 40522478; PMCID: PMC12634109.   You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    27 min
  5. An Introduction to the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model of Care

    02/25/2025

    An Introduction to the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model of Care

    In today’s episode, Matt and Lauren discuss the new CMS GUIDE model for dementia care with Dr. Brystana Kaufman, MSPH, PhD – a health services researcher at the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy at Duke University. The GUIDE model aims to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia by reducing strain on caregivers and enabling individuals to remain in their homes.     Brystana talks with the Minding Memory team about a spectrum of topics as related to the GUIDE model including, what motivated CMS to develop and implement the model; what defines a serious illness; how the model supports caregivers; and what an organization needs to have in terms of services in order to participate in the implementation of the GUIDE model. Dr. Kaufman is the co-author of an article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society titled “GUIDE Dementia Model: Opportunities for Serious Illness Care” which provides additional insight into the model.     Episode Transcript   Brystana Kaufman, PhD, MSPH Faculty Profile    Article referenced in this episode:   Kaufman BG, Grant M. GUIDE dementia model: Opportunities for serious illness care. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Jun;72(6):1935-1938. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18787. Epub 2024 Feb 5. PMID: 38315037.    Additional Resources:   Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model  Health and Aging Policy Fellows  You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  6. Exposure to a Natural Disaster and Long-term Cognition

    02/04/2025

    Exposure to a Natural Disaster and Long-term Cognition

    In this episode, Matt and Lauren speak with Drs. Elizabeth Frankenberg at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duncan Thomas at Duke University about their research which focuses on understanding how survival and physical health evolve after exposure to large scale shocks like the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. They will specifically speak about the STAR Study and what they’re learning about long-term effects on cognitive outcomes.      Faculty Profiles:   Elizabeth Frankenberg, PhD  Duncan Thomas, PhD    Resources from the Episode:   Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery (STAR)  STAR Study Design and Results  The transcript for this episode can be found here. You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    47 min
  7. Identifying Cognitive Difficulty among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans

    01/21/2025

    Identifying Cognitive Difficulty among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans

    In this episode, Matt and Lauren speak with Dr. Tiffany Kindratt whose research focuses on examining health outcomes among the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) population, a group that was – until recently – categorized as “white” by the US government despite. Evidence showing their health and lived experiences are different. We’ll get into a recent American Journal of Public Health article authored by Dr. Kindratt that that examines how cognitive difficulties differ among the MENA population when compared with other racial and ethnic categories.      Faculty Profile: Tiffany Kindratt, PhD, MPH  Health Survey Research (HSR) Lab @ University of Texas at Arlington  American Community Survey (ACS)     AJPH Article:    Kindratt TB, Smith A. Cognitive Difficulty in Middle Eastern and North African Adults Living in the United States Compared With Other Racial and Ethnic Categories, 2017-2021. Am J Public Health. 2024 Nov;114(11):1265-1274. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2024.307803. PMID: 39357001; PMCID: PMC11447784.  The transcript for this episode can be found here. You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
  8. Understanding Dementia Risk Factors with Helen C. Kales, MD

    01/07/2025

    Understanding Dementia Risk Factors with Helen C. Kales, MD

    In this episode, Matt & Lauren have the unique opportunity to talk with Dr. Helen C. Kales, a geriatric psychiatrist and health services researcher who has participated in the previous Lancet Commissions on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care – including the most recent one released in 2024. Dr. Kales discusses how the commission puts together all the evidence to make recommendations that can play a crucial role in dementia prevention. Dr. Kales is the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Joe P. Tupin Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at Davis and has dedicated much of her career to improving the lives of patients living with dementia.      Helen C. Kales, MD Faculty Profile    2024 Lancet Commission: Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet Standing Commission  The transcript for this episode can be found here. You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.4
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Welcome to Minding Memory. In this podcast we discuss topics related to dementia research. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for dementia research, and we have topics for both those new to the space as well as old pros. We start with some basics, like: What exactly is dementia? What are the different types of dementia? What is the TICS, if not a swarm of blood-sucking insects?  But we also invite researchers on to discuss their interesting work to give you a glimpse at the questions, data, and methods moving the field forward.    Minding Memory is co-hosted by Matthew Davis and Lauren Gerlach. Matt and Lauren are health services researchers and professors at the University of Michigan. Matt’s PhD is in Data Science and Lauren is a geriatric psychiatrist. The Minding Memory podcast is part of the Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) at the University of Michigan, supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Additional support also comes from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. The content of this podcast does not represent the views of the National Institutes of Health or the University of Michigan. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and make sure to check out our website. On our website you’ll also find links to the center’s seminar series and data products created specifically for dementia research.  You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Michigan Medicine Podcast Network
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Regents of the University of Michigan
  • Show Website
    Minding Memory

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