Chen paper wins award from UMass Gerontology Department

October 1, 2014

Emily Chen (Ph.D. in Human Development, '14), former BCTR graduate research assistant and TRIPLL affiliate and mentee, received a Francis G. Caro Student Paper Award at the University of Massachusetts. Her paper, Social Diffusion of Advance Care Planning among Related Older Adults, was selected by the review committee at the UMass Gerontology Department as the most outstanding doctoral-level paper.

Chen's research focuses on the individual and social contexts of health behaviors, the experience of older adults with chronic disease, and the role of planning, communication, and self-efficacy in the experience of illness and disability. Collaborating with psychologists, sociologists, and physicians, in both rural and urban settings, Emily has explored these topics using qualitative and quantitative methods. She has an MA and PhD in Human Development from Cornell and an AB in the Growth and Structure of Cities from Bryn Mawr College.