Staff
617.287.7059
Caitlin.Coyle@umb.edu
Research Interests: Social aspects of health and community living with a specific emphasis on social isolation among older adults
617.287.7467
Ceara.Somerville001@umb.edu
Research Interests: Age-friendly communities; community resources that support aging in place; senior centers; mixed methods
Research Interests: Aging in place and community, intergenerational programming, aging innovation and technology.
Susan.Berger001@umb.edu
Research Interests: Qualitative research methodology; Social and leisure participation for older adults; Occupational therapy
Katherine.Burnes@umb.edu
Research Interests: Health and economic security for older women; direct services providers; program management
Research Interests: Age & Dementia Community development, housing alternatives, intergenerational opportunities
Graduate Research Assistants
Research Interests: housing; social connectedness in later life; neighborhood cohesion; age-friendly communities
adriana.hernandez001@umb.edu
Research interests: Alzheimer’s and dementia care, health outcomes for incarcerated older adults, and health disparities in older Latino communities.
Research Interests: employment in later life; financial security
Megan Siebecker is a PhD student in Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She earned a BA from the College of the Holy Cross in 2020 where she studied Sociology and Theatre. She was a 2024 Fellow in the Rappaport Institute for Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research interests include Age and Dementia- Friendly initiatives, demography of aging, healthcare disparities, and aging services and supports.
Sophia Casale holds a MS in Gerontology from UMass Boston's Management of Aging Services program. Professionally, Sophia has worked with older adults with neurodegenerative disorders within various long-term care settings. She sits on the Executive Committee of the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing Geneva and serves as a volunteer Project Coordinator for Gray Panthers NYC. Sophia's volunteerism and professional experience fuels her desire to conduct tangible as well as practical research.
Michelle Ward is a first-year Gerontology PhD student. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Maine with a major in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience and Family Relations. Her research interests include improving resources and healthcare for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), as well as age-friendly and dementia-friendly communities.