News Release

DeFriese Award Winners Announced

May 22, 2001

The Institute on Aging has announced this year's winners of the Gordon H. Defriese Career Development in Aging Research Awards. These annual awards honor Dr. DeFriese's thirty-year distinguished career in the conduct and development of research to improve the quality of lives of older North Carolinians, and especially to his unwavering commitment to developing and supporting the careers of his colleagues. The awards are given to one junior faculty/staff member and one doctoral student from UNC Chapel Hill who demonstrate outstanding promise and a commitment to aging research.

Shannon S. Currey is this year's faculty/staff awardee. Dr Currey is a Research Associate and Associate Director of the Numerical Sciences Core at the Thurston Arthritis Research Center. She has been involved in numerous research projects related to arthritis, health, and quality of life, and she recently received A New Investigator Award from the Arthritis Foundation. She has also been actively involved in promoting the health of older adults in North Carolina through her contributions to the state arthritis plan and the osteoporosis prevention program. Dr. Currey received her PhD in Social Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill in 1998.

R. Tamara Hodlewsky is this year's doctoral student awardee. Ms. Hodlewsky is a student in the Department of Health Policy and Administration, where she is currently working on her dissertation on the topic of quality of care in skilled nursing facilities. As a research assistant and intern, she has been involved in several research projects on long term care. Prior to entering the doctoral program, she was a research director for the American Health Care Association where she conducted studies of the long term care and assisted living industries.

Congratulations to both recipients! An award ceremony will be held at a later date.

More information on the Gordon H. Defriese Career Development in Aging Research Awards, including past winners, is available from our Funding & Grants page.