Frustrated by their inability to communicate with their parents with dementia, two Human Ecology faculty members are using custom-built furniture and digital photos to help families connect with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. With a team of 10 students, Paul Eshelman and Franklin Becker, professors of design and environmental analysis (DEA), constructed a “conversation corner”—a padded, high-backed Read full article »

As people their risk grows for a class of diseases known as protein conformational disorders, which occur when certain proteins become structurally abnormal and disrupt the function of body cells, tissues, and organs. Such conditions include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Type II diabetes, and dementia. Geneticist and biochemist Ling Qi, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, leads a lab researching X-box binding Read full article »

On many occasions, pre-med student Lida Zheng ’11 has explored aging issues in her classes in the College of Human Ecology—such subjects as the nutritional needs of seniors, quality of life in nursing homes, or the maladies that come with old age. But, she said, the lessons usually don’t sink in until she connects them to the many residents she Read full article »

In recent decades, wheelchairs have swelled in size: place a modern wheelchair next to one from the 1970s, and it resembles a Hummer next to a go-kart. “We have gone from the ‘Model-T’—the traditional Everest and Jennings hospital chair—to much larger motorized devices that have a bigger footprint and need broader space for turning and maneuvering,” said David Feathers, assistant professor Read full article »