Advancing Diversity in Aging Research at UC Berkeley

STEM with a Story

Cal-ADAR is no longer an active program. It had served 7 cohorts of undergraduate students, gave them quantitative research skills and research experiences in demography of aging, which is officially a STEM subject. Cal-ADAR was funded by the National Institutes of Aging (R25AG047848). Undergraduate students interested in studying demography should strongly consider the new NIH-funded summer program, NextGen Pop. For more information, visit their website: https://nextgenpop.org/.

Demography offers the study and policy development of immediately relevant social problems and issues, so students find it personally satisfying. We call it “STEM with a story.“

Few people think they want to be a demographer when they “grow up” but perhaps they should. People have heard of ‘demographics’: Demography is both fundamental and applied. Demographic – or population – research is intellectually satisfying, can help solve social problems, has many different career tracks, and can be deeply meaningful. It uses statistics as tools for exploration, akin to a detective needing a magnifying glass in order to see the details. Most people really like using statistics in demography, even if they couldn’t quite see the point in their statistics courses.

ADAR Summit:  The ADAR Summit meeting, held annually and supported by an NIA conference grant, R13AG066389. In this meeting, scholars from all the ADAR programs, along with their directors, gather to share research and other experiences, and learn about being developing one’s career. 

Dr. Maria Carranza, NIA Training Officer, Presentation.

Lily Rahnama presentation on applying to graduate school.

Program: The 2021 Program can be downloaded here: ADAR SUMMIT PROGRAM 8 Nov 2021.pdf.