COVER STORY • Exploring for the Best Models of an Aging Society – Lessons from Japanese Experience • 7

TPhoto: Stephanie Kleinman

he Field of Gerontology:
Views from the Past,
Present & Future

By Pinchas Cohen

Introduction
Russian microbiologist Elie Metchnikoff is believed to have firstcoined the term “gerontology” – the comprehensive multidisciplinary
study of aging and older adults – in 1903.
“Scientists have been neglecting aging, which nonethelesspresents a problem of great interest,” he wrote around that time,
according to author Luba Vikhanski in Immunity: How Elie
Metchnikoff Changed the Course of Modern Medicine (Chicago
Review Press, 2016). Metchnikoff went on to win the Nobel Prize forhis still-relevant discoveries related to the immune system. But his
call for a discipline devoted to exploring how we live and age has
proved equally, if not more, prescient.

A Field Necessitated by Global Change

Author Pinchas Cohen

Due to declining fertility rates, the report also predicts that adults
aged 60 and over will soon outnumber children younger than age
five.
A 2017 United Nations report, “World Population Ageing”, projects
that the number of people aged 80 or over will increase more than
threefold between 2017 and 2050, rising from 137 million to 425
million. The same report states that Japan was the world’s mostaged population in 2017, with a third of the population at age 60 orolder, and projects that it will remain so through 2050. Another UN
report notes that the highest proportion of young people today –nearly nine out of 10 – live in less developed countries, where life isharder due to poverty, instability and a lack of access to educationand health care (The State of the World Population, 2014).
Taken together, these global demographic trends make the field ofgerontology more relevant than ever (Chart 1).

When Metchnikoff was alive in the early 1900s, life expectancy
Longevity, Healthspan & Lifespanwas limited in large part by the fact that many infants and children
While the number of centenarians is going up, maximal life
never made it to adulthood, due to early deaths from infections andexpectancy looks unlikely to change, according to a study led by Jan
parasites, according to “Global Health and Aging”, a 2015 report
Vijg (Nature, 2016). While individuals will be less likely to die at 60,
from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States’
National Institute on Aging (NIA). Life
expectancy increased with improvements in
CHART 1
sanitation and hygiene, the discovery ofWorld population map
antibiotics and the start of vaccination
PERCENT OF POPULATION AGES 65 AND OLDER (2050)
programs, according to “Achievements in
3%-8%
9%-14%
15%-20%21%-27%28%-36%
Public Health, 1900-1999: Control of
Infectious Diseases” (Centers for Disease
Control, 1999).
“In a century the world changed markedly
from having almost no countries with life
expectancy more than 50 years to having
many countries with a life expectancy of 80
years as life expectancy almost doubled in
the long-lived part of the world,” wrote Prof.
Eileen Crimmins of the University ofSouthern California Leonard Davis School ofGerontology (The Gerontologist, Vol. 55,
Issue 6, December 2015). The “Global Healthand Aging” report calls this dramatic increasein life expectancy during the 20th century,
Source: Population Reference Bureau, “2018 World Population Data Sheet”“one of society’s greatest achievements”.
https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/

Japan SPOTLIGHT • July / August 201929

COVER STORY 7

CHART 2Estimate of lifespan, healthspan &disability span
Age
90
80
70

Mean lifespanMean healthspan

60
50
40
30
20

Formal Support for Aging Research & Education

100

and 2017, while deaths from Alzheimer’s disease increased by 145%,
according to the Alzheimer’s Association (Facts and Figures, 2019),
which also notes that by the year 2050, 13.8 million people in the US
alone are projected to have Alzheimer’s, barring the development of
new treatments or prevention methods.
Among the most important interventions to work toward are thoseagainst Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Understanding,preventing and conquering these devasting illnesses is crucial, as is
the development of new policies in health care, housing and more toaddress the challenges of an older population facing dementia risks.
Providing tools and resources for support for their caregivers isneeded as well.

1900

1960

2010

Source: Compiled by the author, 201970 or 80 and more likely to reach centenarian status, the maximum
lifespan seems to have a natural limit, with the record set by France’s
Jeanne Calment of 122 years having never been surpassed,
according to the study.
Although we have made incredible advances in increasing lifespan,these have not been matched in healthspan extension. This leads towhat we call the disability span, which is getting longer and longer.
The field of gerontology must now focus on extending healthspans,the portion of our lives that we spend in good health rather than indisability (Chart 2).
Heart disease is now the leading cause of death around the world
and dementia is considered one of the major causes of disability anddependency among older people, according to the WHO. Deaths
from heart disease in the United States decreased 9% between 2000
CHART 3The science of gerontology

Source: Compiled by the author, 201930 Japan SPOTLIGHT • July / August 2019

Prior to the 1965 passage of the Older Americans Act in the US,
there was very little established instruction on gerontology incolleges and universities, according to a national survey by DavidPeterson (Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, 1987),
which notes that between 1966 and 1984 the Administration on
Aging awarded nearly $95 million in grant funding to institutions ofhigher education and educational consortia to support gerontology
career preparation programs.
The proliferation of educational offerings led to the creation of the
Association of Gerontology in Higher Education in 1974. Now known
as the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), thegroup works to foster the commitment of higher education to thefield of aging and currently counts more than 130 member
institutions in the US, Canada and elsewhere. Today the science ofgerontology can span fields including biology, medicine, sociology,
psychology, demography, economics, policy and service (Chart 3).

COVER STORY 7

History of the USC Leonard Davis School ofGerontology
Compared to today, both the world and the aging field weremarkedly different when what is now the USC Leonard Davis Schoolof Gerontology began as a university research center in 1964.
Nations were not yet directly wrestling with the issues of rapidly
aging populations on their current scale. The first retirement
communities had only recently been created, and opportunities toresearch aging and retirement issues had just started to appear.
USC recognized these unique opportunities and created the centerin 1964, with USC sociologist James Peterson serving as interim
director. The following year, National Institute of Mental Health Aging
Program Director James E. Birren was tapped to become thegerontology center’s first permanent director.
The current Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center facility on the
USC University Park Campus – named for the American Associationof Retired Persons (AARP) co-founder – was dedicated in 1973 andfunded by more than 400,000 AARP members. It would provide acomprehensive research and education venue for the center andsubsequently the school, which was founded in 1975 with Birren
serving as its first dean. A generous endowment gift from Leonard
Davis, AARP co-founder and Colonial Penn Group founder, named
the school in 1976.
In the early 1970s, recruits such as Caleb “Tuck” Finch, now a
USC professor and the ARCO/Kieschnick professor of Gerontology
and Biological Sciences at the Leonard Davis School, would
eventually become some of the school’s first faculty members. Finchand his contemporaries would also develop the school into a
research powerhouse through both incredible scientificachievements and trailblazing grantsmanship. This reputation forboth high-quality scholarship and research support has aided in thesteady recruitment of the field’s top faculty throughout the 1980s,
1990s and beyond. Renowned research centers helmed by Leonard
Davis School faculty continue to investigate Alzheimer’s disease, thebiology of longevity, biodemography, age-friendly housing for older
adults, long-term care and more.

Innovation in Gerontology Education
In the fall of 1975, an inaugural class of 55 students attended thefirst-of-its-kind institution. Among the course offerings was a brandnew Master of Science in Gerontology program; the innovative
curriculum would heavily influence the way in which later
gerontology programs throughout the nation were created andstructured.
In 1989, the nation’s first Ph.D. in Gerontology program wasinaugurated at USC. Since then, the program has produced many of
today’s top leaders in the aging field, and in 2014 the Davis School
added the first Ph.D. in the Biology of Aging to its doctoral offerings.
Today, all Leonard Davis School masters programs – including theMaster of Science in Nutrition, Healthspan and Longevity program, acoordinated dietetics program and the first such program to
specifically highlight aging – as well as the Certificate in Gerontology
program are available both on-campus and online. Professor and
Dean Emeritus Edward Schneider says the unique push for online
gerontology programs was a response to the needs of prospective
students with heavy professional or family responsibilities, including
those caring for children or older family members.
“I was concerned that there were students across the country whowanted to come to USC but couldn’t physically come here,”
Schneider said in a 2015 article commemorating the school’s 40th
anniversary. “The online program was developed to make theexcellent education we provide here on campus accessible to people
around the nation and the world.”

Current Research Efforts
The USC Leonard Davis School’s faculty includes top academics inthe field such as world-renowned demographer and USC Prof. Eileen
Crimmins; Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute, andone of TIME magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in Health Care of
2018; free radical biology pioneer Kelvin Davies, leading elder-abuse
expert Kate Wilber, as well as rising stars in biology, economics,sociology, policy and other crucial areas.
There has been a substantial growth in both research grants
obtained by faculty and student enrollment in all programs,
representing the two major missions of the school. More than 100
researchers conduct state-of-the-art scientific investigations, andmore than 500 students further the exploration and implementationof that knowledge.
Recent findings have advanced our understanding of the role air
pollution plays in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, theimportance of sleep and nutrition in optimal aging, how emotion andstress affect memory as we age, the impact of social determinants ofhealth across the life course, the potential of previously unknown
mitochondria-derived peptides as possible treatment targets forseveral age-related diseases, differences in disease risks between
men and women, and more.
In the coming years, new focuses on purpose, genomics, andtechnology’s roles in aging, as well as global aging outreach andstudy, will provide a wealth of new research questions andeducational opportunities for USC gerontology researchers,
educators, and students.

Selected Centers & Institutes at the Leonard Davis
School of Gerontology• The Ney Center for Healthspan Science: dedicated to research on
longevity and healthy aging and established in 2018 with a $20
million gift from Mei-Lee Ney. The center is a hub ofmultidisciplinary exploration into the biological, demographic,
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and psychosocial aspects of aging.
• The Longevity Institute: led by Prof. Valter Longo, conducts
translational research on aging and age-related diseases througha focus on diet and exercise, bioengineering, pharmacology andregeneration. The institute recently held the first International
Conference on Fasting, Dietary Restriction, Longevity andDisease, during which top researchers from Harvard, MIT, theSalk Institute, the National Institutes of Aging and otherinstitutions gathered for a two-day conference exploring topics inthis growing field of study.
• The Senior Living Institute: brings together today’s leaders in thefield of senior housing to establish best practices in thisemerging trillion dollar industry. The two-day Senior Living
Executive Course (SLEC) from the USC Leonard Davis School ofGerontology, in partnership with the USC Marshall School ofBusiness, draws professionals from across the US and abroadfor education on a range of key issues.
• The Center on Biodemography and Population Health: led byEileen Crimmins, provides a synergistic research environment
for the integration and translation of research on aging cohorts.
Crimmins is also co-investigator of the Health and Retirement
Study (HRS), a longitudinal panel study that has surveyed arepresentative sample of approximately 20,000 people in the US
since 1990. Described as the largest academic behavioral andsocial science project ever undertaken in the US, HRS has beencalled an invaluable publicly available dataset for investigating
work, aging, and retirement and informing public policy on theseissues (Gwenith G. Fisher, Work, Aging and Retirement, Vol. 4,
Issue 1, 2018).
• The Family Caregiver Resource Center: helps families andcommunities master the challenges of caring for older adults.
Center Director Donna Benton, along with Prof. Kate Wilber, leadand support a California caregiving task force, which is helping
advance specific legislative proposals around addressing
limitations in paid family leave laws, improving caregivertraining, and increasing access to affordable services.
• Fall Prevention Center: ensures the independence, safety, andwell-being of older persons through fall prevention leadershipand education. A new survey of adults shows that three out offour adults age 50 and older want to stay in their homes andcommunities as they age – yet many don’t see that happening
for them (Home and Community Preferences: A National Surveyof Adults Age 18-Plus, AARP, 2018). Led by Prof. Jon Pynoos,
the work of the center includes a focus on home modifications
programs designed to allow older adults to remain in theirhomes for as long as possible.
• USC Center on Elder Mistreatment: housed at the Keck School of
Medicine at USC, and run together with the USC Leonard Davis
School, strives to be the world’s academic leader inunderstanding and addressing elder mistreatment. The center iscurrently working with the National Institute of Justice and
32 Japan SPOTLIGHT • July / August 2019

Photo: John Skalicky

The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology conducts research, advocacy and education to
improve the aging process for people everywhere.

Kaiser Permanente to develop an evidence-based elder abuse
prevention program.
Additional areas of emphasis include palliative and end-of-life care,
improving service delivery systems, technology and aging, andlivable communities. School faculty work with community leaders at
all levels, including local, state, national and international.

Meeting the Needs of a Changing Society
The population of Americans 65 years of age and over is projected
to nearly double from 2015 to 2055, according to US census data.
As a result, the demand for qualified leaders in aging services andgerontology-related occupations is likely to increase as the first waveof baby boomers reaches the age of 70. To help meet that need, the
USC Leonard Davis School continues to develop new educational
programs. The school recently unveiled a Master of Arts in Medical
Gerontology program and plans to launch another master’s program
focused on senior living hospitality.
The school has also partnered with other organizations across theworld to create tailored gerontology programming for professionals
who serve older adults. One such program with Bank of America
Merrill Lynch educates financial planners on the specific needs andgoals of older people. A partnership with The Hartford insurancecompany provides a home modification certification program forcontracting professionals. Another course is presented inpartnership with the Yamano Beauty College in Tokyo and ispreparing beauticians-to-be to meet the needs of Japan’s older
adults.
Some USC Leonard Davis School students also get hands-on
experience through a pioneering collaboration with Kingsley Manor, a
Los Angeles-area retirement community. Since 1984, at least 60 USC
Leonard Davis masters students have called Kingsley Manor home,earning room and board in exchange for two days of service eachCOVER STORY 7

week. A few similar residential programs have recently begun inplaces such as Ohio, Spain and the Netherlands, but Kingsley
Manor’s is believed to be the only one specifically for gerontology
students and is designed to help train future leaders in the field.
One alumnus of the program, Shaun Rushforth, has gone on to
become Kingsley Manor’s current executive director and credits his
experience living there with helping him better meet the residents’needs. “I don’t know what it is like to be an 84-year-old man,” hesaid. “But I do know what it is like to live in a retirement community.”

Alumni in the Field
Whether they start businesses, shape policy, practice medicine,develop technologies, or lead research, gerontologists serve older
adults in a myriad of ways. Our students have gone on to a wide
variety of careers, from top positions in major universities aroundthe world, to traditional leadership roles in community-based
services, senior living, health professions, government and advocacy
organizations as well as innovative roles in financial planning,technology and real estate.
Notable alumni include Katy Fike, a former investment banking
analyst who earned her doctorate at the USC Leonard Davis School.
In 2015, Fast Company named her one of the most creative people inbusiness for her roles as a founder of the senior-focused venture
fund Generator Ventures and the aging innovation network, Aging
2.0. Laura Trejo, a master of gerontology graduate, leads the
Department of Aging for the City of Los Angeles. At the national
level, Dr. Dawn Alley directs the population and health group for theCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Rick Matros graduatedfrom our first masters class and is now the chairman and chief
executive officer of Sabra Health Care REIT, one of the largest
owners of senior housing facilities in the country. Laura CorralesDiaz Pomatto, the first graduate of our Biology of Aging Ph.D.
program, is a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health.
Recent gerontology Ph.D. graduate Morgan Levine is now aprofessor at Yale. Her research on epigenetic biomarkers of aging
shows that our biological age and chronological age can be different
and that we can even be aging faster or slower in one domain versus
another.

Looking to the FutureWith its multidisciplinary faculty and research strengths, the USC
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is well positioned to conductcutting-edge research in several facets of geroscience –understanding the genetic, molecular, epigenetic and cellularmechanisms that make older age a risk factor for many chronic
conditions and diseases. The school is particularly prepared for the
new age of big data; a new Bioinformatics Research Core within theschool will enable researchers to weave together genomic andbiomarker data from large cohorts to gain new insights into thebiodemography of populations, risk factors for age-related diseases
and other health and well-being outcomes.
The field of longevity and healthy aging is becoming a central
theme in conversations in government, industry, foundations, andacademia. Our school is poised to be a centerpiece in the process ofmoving this agenda forward around the world, including:• advancing research into aging-related diseases, including
Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer; and addressing fundamental
aging processes, to develop new treatments and strategies forprevention, including looking at how lifestyle changes, from
specific exercises to specialized diets, can promote healthy
aging:• leveraging the growing interest to identify and strengthen civic
partnerships to help meet the diverse societal needs of an aging
population:• providing solutions related to housing, hospitality and healtheducation, as well personnel-training for the soon-to-be trilliondollar senior living industry.

Conclusion
More than 40 years ago, the founders of the USC Leonard Davis
School of Gerontology recognized the importance of aninterdisciplinary school focused on studying the biological,
sociological, psychological and policy aspects of aging. Because ofthat vision, the school is now the preeminent leader in an
increasingly vital field, as people are living longer than everthroughout most of the world.
Older adults are spurring a reimagining of how later life is lived,from work opportunities, home design and community development
to technological innovations, scientific breakthroughs and lifestylechanges. The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology is poised tocontinue these successes by advancing individual, community andsocietal solutions for living longer, healthier and more rewarding
lives.
Metchnikoff was correct in stating that the study of aging should
not be neglected. Gerontologists are now in high demand bycorporations who recognize the market potential of the aging
population, by government agencies that recognize programs andpolicies that must be put in place to ensure the welfare of the very
oldest and frail among us, and by forward-thinking organizations
around the globe. Gerontologists are changing the world, improving
the quality of life for each of us today and for the generations tofollow.

Pinchas Cohen, MD, is the dean of the University of Southern California
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, holder of the William and Sylvia Kugel
Dean’s Chair in Gerontology and a professor of medicine and biologicalsciences. He is an expert in the study of mitochondrial peptides and their
possible therapeutic benefits for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases
related to aging.

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