Community Lecture Presents Latest Research Finding on Alzheimer’s Disease

The Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) at the University of Pittsburgh will offer the latest information on Alzheimer’s disease as part of its annual Jay L. Foster Memorial Lecture Series on Tuesday, July 17.

Alzheimer’s disease expert Mary Guerriero Austrom, Ph.D., the Wesley P. Martin Professor of Alzheimer Disease Education in the department of psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, and the director of the education core at the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Center, will be the featured speaker at this year’s community lecture. She will present “Caring and Coping: Issues in Late-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease” at 1 p.m. in the Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Shadyside.

Dr. Guerriero Austrom’s clinical and research interests include developing non-drug interventions for patients and families and providing care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the home and in institutional settings. She has published more than 100 articles, book chapters and abstracts on her work.

She currently serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the National Alzheimer’s Association and is co-chairing its 15th Annual Dementia Care Conference this summer. In addition, she is actively involved with other organizations locally and nationally devoted to issues affecting the elderly, such as the Gerontological Society of America and the International Psychogeriatric Association.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is managed by GSPH through the support of the Foster Charitable Trust. The family of the late Jay L. Foster established this memorial lecture series to educate family members, caregivers and others who are faced with the daily struggle of dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. From their own experience, the Foster family learned that knowledge about illness is an important factor in coping with its effects on the family, especially the pain of watching a loved one decline. They hope that caregivers, family members, residential treatment staff and other health professionals will be aided by this lecture series.

For those unable to attend, a video of the lecture will be available for download from the Internet. Please visit www.publichealth.pitt.edu/specialevents/foster2007 for more information or call 412-383-8849.