Symposium

Tapping the Wellspring of Creativity

Anne Basting is a writer, artist and advocate for the power of creativity to transform aging care. She is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Founder of the award-winning non-profit TimeSlips.org, which trains, inspires, and supports caregivers to infuse creativity into care. Her writing and large-scale public performances have helped shape an international movement to extend creative and meaningful expression from childhood, where it is expected, through to late life, where it has been too long withheld.

Her books include Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Elder and Dementia Care (Harper), Penelope: An Arts-based Odyssey to Transform Eldercare (U of Iowa), and Forget Memory: Creating Better Lives for People with Dementia (Johns Hopkins). Internationally recognized for her speaking and her innovative work, Anne is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and numerous major awards and grants. She believes that creative engagement can and should be infused into every aging care system and has trained/consulted with Meals on Wheels, libraries, home care companies, senior centers, memory cafes, museums, adult day programs, and every level of long-term care.

Why Did Alzheimer’s Disease Become a Crisis and What We Can Do About It

He researches and writes about issues at the intersections of bioethics, aging, and the neurosciences. He is the author of The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It and the novel Open Wound: The Tragic Obsession of Dr. William Beaumont and has written essays for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Hill, Nature, STAT, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a Professor of Medicine, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, and Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and Co-Director of the Penn Memory Center, where he cares for patients. He lives in Philadelphia.

Social Prescriptions: An Alternative Treatment in Alzheimer’s Disease

Angel has an extensive background in counseling psychology, art therapy and Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic neuroimaging and clinical research trials. Her work is in Medical Life Sciences- U.S. Medical and Clinical Affairs at Life Molecular Imaging. She works with diverse advocacy groups and Alzheimer’s research centers across the country. Angel co-developed and co-facilitates a monthly support program for early-onset and early stage dementia at the Yale University Art Gallery that now runs virtually.

She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tampa and guest teaches in neurological and psychiatric disorders throughout the nation. She resides on the Board of Directors and serves as the Executive Arts Director for the Cognitive Dynamics Foundation. She also resides on the Medical Advisory Board for Lorenzo’s House, a national nonprofit in young-onset Alzheimer’s support. Angel has chaired and co-chaired neurosciences and creativity track symposiums throughout the country and speaks globally about Alzheimer’s and caregiver support, diversity and inclusion in clinical trials, mental health and the importance of creativity on the brain. She is a widely published author and is featured in diverse media for her work.

Optimizing Ketogenic Nutrition for Brain Health

Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and a Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). Dr. D’Agostino received his B.S. in Nutritional Science and Biological Sciences in 1998 at Rutgers University before receiving a Predoctoral Fellowship in neuroscience at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1999. In 2004 Dr. D’Agostino entered into a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University in Ohio before moving his research program to USF Tampa in 2006. Funding through the Department of Defense (DoD) and Office of Naval Research (ONR) lead him to develop and patent unique technologies for a wide range of applications related to enhancing resilience in undersea environments, treating neurological disorders and in treatment and prevention of metabolic-based diseases. Dr. D’Agostino continues to work closely with federal organizations, private industry, 501c3 foundations and media outlets.

Identifying and Staging Nine Dementias

Tam Cummings, PhD. founded her company in 2009 with the mission to “Inspire, Educate, and Empower Dementia Caregivers.” Now her professional gerontology practice in the Texas Hill Country is recognized as one of the leading educators of dementia caregivers and program design for dementia care in Texas and nationally. Dr. Cummings attended Baylor, Texas A&M, and Concordia Universities. She has been awarded degrees in journalism, social work, and gerontology. Her post-graduate studies are in educational psychology and rural public health. Dr. Cummings is a member of the National Association of Professional Gerontologists, has authored and published four books for dementia caregivers and speaks in national podcasts for dementia caregivers. Dr. Cummings developed the Dementia Behavioral Assessment Tool (DBAT) for staging dementias along with a classification and staging tool for the behavioral, communication, and movement variations of the FTDs (Frontotemporal Dementias) – the only tool of its kind.