Center on Aging New Member and Pilot Highlight |
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Megan Thomas Hebdon, PhD, DNP, RN, NP-c is an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on the intersection of family caregiving, paid work, and well-being. She is particularly interested in how family caregiving in early and middle adulthood impacts individuals with their employment and financial trajectories and how health policies, such as paid family leave, can buffer the negative well-being impacts of balancing family caregiving and work. Dr. Thomas Hebdon graduated from Weber State University with her undergraduate degree in Nursing and obtained her nurse practitioner training from the University of Utah, doctorate of nursing practice from Purdue University, and PhD in Nursing from the University of Arizona. She completed her T32 post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Utah. Following her post-doctoral fellowship, she joined the School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin from 2021-2024. Dr. Thomas Hebdon joined the University of Utah in 2024 as an Assistant Professor, due to work opportunities and family caregiving responsibilities. She is a Utah native, and she enjoys running/hiking, cooking, reading, creating, and spending time with her husband, three children, and two dogs.
Dr. Thomas Hebdon’s 2025 Center on Aging Pilot Grant award is titled “Financial Counseling and Advocacy for Dementia Family Caregivers in Early and Middle Adulthood.” Family caregivers contribute over 800 billion dollars to the United State economy with their unpaid care, and they contribute over 7000 dollars in out-of-pocket costs to their family caregiving responsibilities. Almost half of all family caregivers experience at least one financial impact of caregiving such as taking on debt, having difficulty affording food or housing, or stopping investments or savings. This is particularly acute in early and middle adulthood when family caregivers are building careers, families, and long-term savings. This project will use a co-creation approach to develop a financial counseling and advocacy intervention with a community advisory board and user-informed design principles. The intervention will be piloted with 10 family caregivers in early and middle adulthood who are caring for someone with dementia.
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New Publication Alert - "Medical student coaching in the U.S.: a national survey of clinical skills educators"....Center on Aging member Dr. Katherine Anderson had this article recently published in BMC Medical Education.
Coaching is increasingly recognized as a valuable tool to amplify learning in undergraduate medical education (UME), yet national data on its implementation, particularly in the context of clinical skills education, remain limited. Previous survey studies on coaching in medical education have focused on select institutions with established coaching programs, leaving a gap in understanding the broader landscape of coaching in UME. This study aims to address three critical gaps: current descriptions of coaching programs across U.S. medical schools, the nature of support provided to faculty coaches in these programs, and understanding how coaching is integrated into clinical skills development.
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The National Collaboratory to Address Elder Mistreatment (NCAEM) is pleased to announce a request for applications for the fourth cohort of our Mentorship Program. NCAEM is comprised of national experts working together to integrate elder mistreatment prevention, identification, and response throughout aging-related services, policy, and supports. We recognize that improving elder mistreatment identification, intervention, and prevention requires supporting people with a broad range of interests and careers, and we ask for your help in this by circulating the following information about the mentorship program.
This 1-year mentorship program is intended to identify and support clinicians and service providers, researchers, policy makers and advocates from multiple disciplines who wish to focus on improving care for older adults experiencing or at risk of experiencing elder mistreatment. Applicants representing or working with underserved populations are encouraged to apply.
To submit an application, please follow the application instructions Cohort 4 Mentorship Program Application.
Applications are due Monday, 12/14/25 at 11:59PM PST.
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U of Utah Age- Friendly Collaborative Meetings
We welcome your participation in our monthly U of U Age-Friendly Collaborative virtual meeting that occurs on the 3rd Friday of each month from 9:00 – 10:00 AM. Please contact Please contact Heather Podolan (heather.podolan@hsc.utah.edu) for more information.
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Department of Health & Kinesiology
Move Well, Live Well
December 10th, 2025
5:00pm; College of Health
The Department of Health & Kinesiology is hosting a community event with an emphasis on aging and older adults. Please see the attached flyer.
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AHRQ National Webinar on Prepping for the Future: Digital Solutions for Aging Populations
AHRQ will host a webinar on December 17th, 2025, from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET that covers how digital technologies such as remote monitoring, telehealth, and personalized health apps are transforming care for older adults by enabling timely interventions, improving access, and supporting independence. Our expert panel will explore how these tools can improve health outcomes, overcome adoption barriers, and ensure older adults benefit from accessible, user-friendly, and effective digital solutions.
This webinar was previously scheduled for October. If you registered for that date, please re-register.
Register for the December 17th webinar on digital solutions for aging populations.
Dr. Jorie Butler, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine will be one of the presenters.
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Geriatric Division Conferences |
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Please join the University of Utah, Division of Geriatrics and the Veteran Affairs Salt Lake City Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center for Geriatric Grand Rounds and Translational Grand Rounds on Tuesday mornings.
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Dr. Brad King in the Department of Health & Kinesiology is looking for participants between 55-75 years old to participate in an experiment that examines the effects of exercise on brain function using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Would you like to contribute to our research? Do you know someone who would be interested? Do you wish to receive more information? Contact us at: ExerciseBrain@utah.edu
What does participation involve?
Participants will first complete an online screening questionnaire to assess eligibility. Participants will then be invited to complete 3 sessions spread over 3 weeks, each separated by approximately one week. Two of the sessions involve an exercise protocol. The total time commitment is around 7.5 hours.
View the attached flyer below to participate or learn more:
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Caregiver Nation Conference
Executive Director Ence along with Jen Morgan (No Wrong Door grant lead) and Kate Nederostek Division of Aging and Adult Services attended the National Alliance for Caregiving conference in Washington DC November 4-6. Collaboration with other state leaders in this field and networking were productive. Governor Cox had recorded a message for the national meeting that was well received, and he referenced the Utah Master Plan on Aging as one of the leading projects in Utah.
Personal stories were shared by several families and expert panels shared policy and access to care insights. Senator Andy Kim from New Jersey was a highlight. He is an active care partner to his father and a strong advocate for older adult issues. Planned visits to Capitol Hill were sporadic given the government shutdown and we determined to meet the Utah representatives in the weeks that follow. Our focus is to garner support for the Older American’s Act renewal and funding and share Utah’s work on caregiving support.
UCOA Quarterly Summit – Fall 2025
Darlene Curley, UCOA Chair, welcomed the group. She is stepping down as Chair but will remain on the Commission as a citizen advocate and policy advisor. CNS (Community Nursing Services) CEO, Joel Macey, will serve as Chair for the next few years. UCOA is also recruiting statutory seat openings for Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) (ex officio), LTC industry, Technology, and Business.
Partner updates include a recap of the successful first annual Kaleidoscope arts and aging event, and the new leadership of event co-sponsor Jewish Family Services were introduced. SL County’s Falls Prevention successful and well-attended event at Wheeler Farm was reviewed by IHC’s Sara Mathews. Jeremy Cunningham (Alzheimer’s Assoc) and Joe Hirabayashi (AARP) reviewed prospective legislation.
Nels Holmgren, (DAAS) joined ED Ence on a discussion to help clarify and distinguish purposes and scope of the Master Plan on Aging (MPA) and Gov’s WISE Initiative and how they fit together.
The MPA deep dive this session was on Caregiving: Networks for Care. An interactive panel covered progress and plans for several key initiatives. Jen Morgan, Becky Utz, Kate Nederostek, and ED Ence covered the NAC Conference in DC – UT, Governor Cox message, Utah Caregiving Roundtable, Administration for Community Living “No Wrong Door” Grant awarded to Utah, and a preview of the upcoming 2026 Conference on Caregiving Research led by Lee Ellington’s Family Caregiver Collaborative.
Community Engagements
Executive Director Ence continued the collaboration with the Utah Foundation and supported their Aging Shouldn’t Be Scary event with exchanges with community experts on older adult housing and transportation options. Ence also participates actively in the WISE workgroups as well as the steering committee. Ence participated in a conversation with Kristin Lees Haggerty, a national expert in strengthening health care systems to meet the needs of older adults. She is an experienced health systems researcher and program leader, designs, tests, and disseminates innovations that advance age-friendly health care.
Finally, Executive Director Ence met with other leaders of the Utah Assisted Living Association to discuss policy issues related to resident discharges.
2026 UCOA Summits Noon – 1:30 PM via Zoom
Thursday – Feb 12, 2026 (during legislative session)
Thursday – May 14, 2026
Thursday – August 13, 2026
Thursday – November 12, 2026
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Please note that the Extramural LRP Application Submission Deadline has been extended to December 4, 2025. The new deadline also applies to reference letters and institutional certifications.
We recommend reviewing the updated notice NOT-OD-26-010 and the LRP website for additional details and guidance.
The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs established by Congress and designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. The escalating costs of advanced education and training in medicine and clinical specialties are forcing some scientists to abandon their research careers for higher-paying private industry or private practice careers.
The LRPs counteract that financial pressure by repaying up to $50,000 annually of a researcher’s qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research.
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The Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Research Center at Utah State University offers a Research Catalyst program to facilitate studies of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This competitive program is open to any faculty or post-doctoral fellow working for a Utah-based institution of higher education. Students can be supported, but the application is submitted by their faculty advisor.
Research in ADRD is defined broadly, including prevention, intervention, basic or applied studies, or supporting family members of people with ADRD. Research supports are wide-ranging and can include funds to directly carry out the work (e.g., honoraria for participants; funds for assays), research assistantships, purchasing of equipment, or providing time to complete the work through course releases or the provision of summer salary.
Please note that we aim to support as many high-quality applications as possible, thus applicants should keep budgets trim and/or consider other cost-sharing mechanisms. Last year, our awards ranged from approximately $15,000 (over one year) - $40,000 (distributed over 2 years).
The deadline to apply is December 1.
Research Catalyst website: https://cehs.usu.edu/adrc/research/opportunities
Please note that detailed instructions are provided in the "Research Catalyst Program Overview and Instructions" link on this page.
Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Research Center
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Please Update your Directory Information |
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The bristlecone pine tree (Pinus longaeva) - the earth’s oldest inhabitant with a life span of almost 5,000 years - is found only in Utah and five other western states. Its extraordinary longevity and ability to adapt and survive in extremely harsh environmental conditions above 10,000 feet embodies the investigative spirit and mission of the Utah Center on Aging.
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U of Utah Division of Geriatrics 30 N Mario Capecchi Dr., 2nd Floor North | Salt Lake City, UT 84112 US
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