The Center for SUNSHINE will host its inaugural annual research symposium titled “Advancing Aging Resilience Through Research, Partnership, and Practice” on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the University of Maryland, College Park (virtual option also available). The event is free, registration is required and space is limited.
The symposium brings together a broad aging research and practice community—students, research trainees, faculty, community members, civic society leaders, state and local policymakers, and research institutions—for a full day of presentations, panels, and structured networking centered on aging resilience.
The program includes:
- Keynote remarks and a fireside discussion with Dr. Lisbeth Nielsen, Director, Division of Behavioral and Social Research, National Institute on Aging, and Dr. Boris Lushniak, Dean, University of Maryland School of Public Health, on the future of behavioral and social research in aging
- Scientific presentations from UMD and University of Maryland, Baltimore researchers covering income gradients in life expectancy, racial disparities in palliative care among older adults with traumatic brain injury, sustaining community-academic research partnerships, and AI applications in resilient aging health systems
- Emerging Scholars presentations from SUNSHINE’s inaugural grantees on biologic therapy optimization for COPD in older adults and the effects of telehealth policy on mental health care access
- A Community Partners Panel featuring Maryland Department of Aging leadership, Legacy Leadership Institute alumni, and community organization representatives discussing lived experience, barriers to care, and research priorities from the field
- A lunchtime poster session featuring student and trainee research
- Structured Research–Community Matchmaking (speed networking) designed to facilitate meaningful connections across researchers, trainees, community organizations, and policy stakeholders
About the Center for SUNSHINE
The Center for Seniors Uniting Nationwide to Support Health, INtegrated care, and Economics, known as the Center for SUNSHINE, an interdisciplinary collaboration funded by the National Institute on Aging. Co-led by the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, the Center for SUNSHINE will serve as a national hub for interdisciplinary research, training and real-world innovation to strengthen resilience in aging populations.
The center, outlined in a study in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, draws from 50 years of scholarship at UMD’s Center on Aging and the computational innovation and clinical partnerships enabled by the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing.
The overarching mission of SUNSHINE is to advance aging resilience by integrating healthcare systems, public health organizations, social service agencies, and community-based resources to enhance the well-being of older adults and their care partners and maximize societal value.
