Elaine Wethington named a BCTR Associate Director

October 12, 2011

Elaine Wethington will become an associate director of the BCTR, joining Steve Hamilton and Rachel Dunifon. She was a key member of the planning committee for the BCTR. Elaine brings several areas of experience and content expertise to the center: she provides continuity with work that had been in the BLCC portfolio around aging; she has built key alliances with colleagues at Weill Medical, strengthening BCTR connections in NYC; she has extensive experience to further develop the center’s teaching and advising around translational research; her collaborative work with DNS faculty as a great asset.

Elaine is a medical sociologist, jointly appointed in the Departments of Human Development and of Sociology. Her research interests are in the areas of stress, protective mechanisms of social support, and translational research methods. Three current interests frame her work: 1) developing measures for longitudinal studies of the impacts of life events, chronic difficulties, and their accumulation on changes in mental and physical health: 2) the health impacts of work and family demands during adulthood; 3) translating basic research on social isolation and social integration to improve the health and well-being of older people. She is Co-Principal Investigator and Pilot Study Director, Cornell-Columbia Edward R. Roybal Center (Weill-Ithaca collaboration); and Co-Principal Investigator, Center for Behavioral Interventions to Prevent Obesity (Weill-Ithaca collaboration). Elaine is also Director of Graduate Studies for the field of Human Development.