Chair

Julie Barnett is Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Professor of Health Psychology. She has a particular interest and expertise in risk: public appreciation of risk, risk communication and risk management. Other research interests include the role of social connection in addressing loneliness and social isolation, social prescribing and the increasing integration of digital technology with our everyday lives. She is a founding member of the University of Bath’s Healthy Later Living Network at the University which includes a focus on all these areas - and many more.

Pannel:

Afshin Vafaei is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health Studies at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. Trained as a quantitative social epidemiologist, his research is around understanding how social factors affect the health of older adults with a focus on chronic conditions, such as mobility decline, multimorbidity, and frailty, with the ultimate goal of achieving healthy aging. He has collaborated with research teams from Latin America and Europe exploring differential health impacts of contextual factors in old age. Recently he has established a homecare lab investigating determinants and barriers of accessing quality homecare.

Carri Hand is an Associate Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Canada. Her research explores older adults’ social connectedness, community participation, and engagement in everyday activities in their neighbourhoods. Through her research she seeks to develop innovative strategies to promote equitable, age-inclusive communities, using approaches such as participatory action research, qualitative methods, geo-spatial techniques, and survey research. www.engageresearch.ca

Michelle Dellamora is the Manager of Community Initiatives and Plans in Neighbourhood and Community-Wide Services with the City of London. Michelle manages a dynamic team of specialists who support community initiatives including the Child & Youth Network, Age Friendly London Network, Community Safety & Well-Being Plan, and Community Grants. Michelle has a passion for strategic planning, policy, and community development and over a decade of experience supporting community-led projects. Michelle nine years of experience working in municipal government and holds a Master’s degree in Health Sciences from Western University and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from McGill University.

Cerian Calonmôr is the Ageing Well Programme Lead at Age UK Bath & North East Somerset, where she oversees community-led initiatives to improve health, connection, and inclusion in later life. With a background in human rights, political communications and public engagement, she brings a person-first lens to ageing, and a strong focus on community resilience, intergenerational co-production, digital inclusion, and platforming the voices of older people. Cerian holds a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Bath and an MSc in Political Communications from the London School of Economics.

James Fletcher is an Assistant Professor in the University of Bath’s School of Management. He has a background in medical sociology and gerontology. He is interested in digital ageing and creative methods, with a focus on cognitive impairment and inclusive data generation. His research covers several areas of the political economy of ageing and dementia, with an emphasis on using social theory and creative methods to understand later life disability as a political entity. As well as traditional publication, James also develops digital and multimedia content.

Joint Seminar: Learning from Age-friendly communities in Canada and the UK