Advancing Research and Innovation for Aging and Disability (ARIAD)

A CU Denver Research and
Creative Work Grand Challenge

The Goal

The ARIAD team aims to cultivate a powerful collaborative network of academic experts, community stakeholders, and local, national, and international industry advisors and partners to address the grand challenge of aging and aging into disability facing our world today. Funding and research support is provided by CU Denver in order to lay the foundation for building CU Denver’s reputation as a leader in research and creative work.

Project Information

ARIAD’s consortium of experts will converge to explore, develop, and deploy safe, productive, and efficient technologies to support the needs of those living with, or aging into, disability.

Leveraging and evolving CU Denver and Anschutz’s nationally recognized foundational programs is a key component of ARIAD’s plan. CIDE with its knowledge of assistive technology and human factors and design provides a vital strategic partnership. When partnered with the rest of the ARIAD group, the project team is equipped with expertise ranging from engineering to medicine to humanities and adult education. Collectively, ARIAD will forge new paths and propel creation of new knowledge to change lives by improving overall wellbeing and independence for those aging into or living with disability.

The outcome will not only make CU Denver a global destination for disability and aging technology innovation but will also make significant strides toward addressing the Grand Challenge facing our world today - how do we redesign our world when, for the first time in human history, our planet has more people over 65 than under the age of five?

Contact us to learn more or to join the effort!

Email Dr. Cathy Bodine: cathy.bodine@cuanschutz.edu
Email Dr. Caroline Clevenger: caroline.clevenger@ucdenver.edu

The Challenge

Public speaker in wheelchair in group with other adult lecturers.

One Billion

People live with disabilities worldwide.

Society is Aging

By 2030, one out of every five Americans will be at or above retirement age

Demand Fuels Innovation

One in two older adults will experience disability as they age.

Team Members

Patricia Valverde PhD

Assistant Professor Public Health

Department of Community & Behavioral Health

Email Address:patricia.valverde@cuanschutz.edu

Primary Phone:3037240628

Mailing Address:

CU Anschutz

Anschutz Medical Campus Building 406

12477 East 19th Avenue

Aurora, CO 80045

Bio

Dr. Valverde is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at CU Denver. She has extensive experience with developing, leading, managing, and training staff with public health practices related to intervention studies and programs utilizing health navigators, community health workers, and other non-licensed public health professionals to improve community health. Her experience with nicotine and tobacco began with the implementation of a tobacco cessation intervention within a large Head Start facility to assist parents and staff in accessing and using available tobacco cessation resources. After this project, she became trained as a tobacco cessation specialist and has provided coaching to tobacco users at academic hospitals and Veterans Administration facilities. She co-led a project to survey low-income residents on their tobacco use and daily and life stressors. More recently, she led a pilot project to survey and conduct qualitative interviews of Latinx and other adolescents related to vaping patterns and also test lung function. She is appointed to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Tobacco Review Committee, which is tasked with tobacco control strategic planning and the distribution of tobacco and nicotine tax revenues of approximately $23M annually. She has managed large, multi-year randomized clinical trials and survey and qualitative research projects that require multi-disciplinary teams, community support, and engagement.

Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering (CIDE)

CU Denver

The Hub, Bioengineering

1224 5th Street

Suite 130

Denver, CO 80204

303-315-1280

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