Div. 20 program committee report

Mark your calendars. The Div. 20 Program for the 2017 APA Convention in Washington, D.C. (Aug. 3-6) is almost finalized, and it looks great. Key sessions to look forward to include Manfred Diehl's presidential address titled, “Motivating Adults to Engage in Health-Promoting Behavior: How Far Have We Come and Where Are We Going?” Diehl's presidential address and themes focus on the current state of affairs of motivating middle-aged and older adults to engage in behavior that promotes healthy aging, focusing on approaches for improving physical and cognitive health. Thomas Hess, PhD, will present the Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award address. Additionally, two National Institute on Aging program officers will hold a session discussing the NIH Science of Behavior Change Roadmap Project. There also will be an exciting session honoring the CREATE group for their APA prize for Interdisciplinary Team Research: Research on Aging and Technology.

This year, Div. 20 will be participating in four collaborative programming sessions, including three symposia and one skill-building session. These sessions reflect a broad range of exciting research findings and clinical issues including: innovative interventions for veterans with neurological disorders; integrated healthcare across the lifespan; health and successful aging; and optimizing outcomes for individuals with autism. Div. 20 also will be hosting six other symposia along with 58 posters that were accepted for presentation. These symposia and poster presentations reflect innovative and contemporary topics such as: emotional processing and regulation; assessment in older adulthood; caregiving; mental health needs of older adults; biological aspects of aging; positive aging; social support and social networks; training and intervention programs; end of life issues; and translating research findings to policy.

We also will be providing information on co-listed sessions lead by other divisions that may interest our members. Of note, there will be a mentoring workshop focusing on how to successfully navigate NIH and VA funding mechanisms, which includes a mock grant review session. We invite members to meet new fellows in their presentation session, and this year we will have a combined social hour and awards ceremony. We also are working on an additional off-site social event to enable Div. 20 members to network and enjoy the company of colleagues. The APA conference programming office is reviewing our scheduling requests, and we should hear in June more about the finalized schedule.

We look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C.