Assignments and Pre-work

 During SPA 2021, participants will have an opportunity to:

1. Understand methodologies used in longitudinal studies of health and aging;
2. Explore analytical approaches to the analysis of longitudinal data;
3. Frame longitudinal research questions to address interdisciplinary research on aging and health;
4. Increase awareness of potential research opportunities and the availability of data for trainees to undertake research using longitudinal studies on aging;
5. Explore opportunities for data harmonization and pooling across national and international longitudinal studies and understand advantages and disadvantages of the data harmonization of longitudinal studies;
6. Virtually interact with leading researchers and academic mentors in the field of longitudinal research from across the country and abroad;
7. Develop skills in knowledge translation of longitudinal studies for various audiences (general public, media, health professionals, policymakers, decision-makers and industry);
8. Develop skills in grant writing and peer review;
9. Learn how to effectively communicate research findings to the public through traditional and social media;
10. Gain an understanding of the studies and initiatives linked to the Institute of Aging’s major initiatives: The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) – the Canadian Component of the CIHR Dementia Research Strategy;
11. Understand ethical and social issues surrounding longitudinal studies;
12. Build a professional interdisciplinary network of researchers interested in, or working in the area of, longitudinal research on aging;
13. Promote skills training and career building relevant to cross-disciplinary, longitudinal research.

We won’t get to meet in person, so to make it easier for us all to learn about one another we are asking you to prepare a colour poster (8.5 x 11 inch PDF) with your name, institutional affiliation, photo, and the following headings:  

• About me or My background  
• Current research 
• Career development 
• Goals for the SPA

These posters must be submitted by Monday April 26, 2021. These posters will be available for perusing on the first day of SPA during our online social mixer and will be shared with you afterwards as well. Details on submission will be shared with you by e-mail. 

During SPA 2021, you and your team members will be working towards completing a CLSA Catalyst Grant application. In advance of programming, we would like you to start thinking about a topic you would like focus on. Your proposal has space for references, so feel free to save some articles that would be useful to you in completing this project. We will be providing you with contact information for your group members after April 23rd. We encourage you to connect with your group members either live or asynchronously to start narrowing in on the topic you will be working on over the course of the program.  

This list of CLSA webinars will provide you with some ideas of work other researchers have done with CLSA data, if you need some inspiration: https://www.clsa-elcv.ca/stay-informed/clsa-webinars/clsa-webinar-videos