Increasing Student Involvement in Cognitive Aging Research

Abstract

The involvement of undergraduates in research on aging has benefits for the students and for the faculty mentors, as well as for their departments, their universities, and the field of gerontology at large. This article reports on the application of a 3-year Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) by the National Institute on Aging awarded to Fairfield University—a selective, midsize private Jesuit institution—to increase undergraduate involvement in cognitive aging research. The series of studies examines age-related differences in veridical and false memories arising from repeated attempts to remember information. The grant has greatly expanded the research opportunities available for undergraduates, and has provided research training to a greater number and broader range of students than was previously possible (over the 3-year period, over 30 students gained hands-on, in depth research training). Specific student research activities on the Fairfield Cognitive Aging Project are discussed, and the development of a course on supervised research, its place in the curriculum, and the immediate and long-term benefits to students are described.

This research was supported by a National Institute on Aging Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) Grant 1R15 AG021443-01.

Thanks to Mark Mattson, Tim Snyder, and Judy Primavera for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.