Brandeis University Professor Derek M. Isaacowitz was recently named the 2009 recipient of the Margret M. & Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology. The award, which was presented by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization entirely devoted to aging, and is awarded annually to recognize outstanding career contributions in behavioral and social gerontology.

Dr. Isaacowitz leads Brandeis’ Emotion Laboratory in the Department of Psychology, where scientists investigate how people of different ages manage their emotions and the role attention plays in emotion regulation and maintenance of well-being. The lab utilizes eye tracking technology to learn how elderly individuals process emotions from their environment when exposed to various stimuli.

“I try to understand the sources of older adults’ affective resilience by investigating processes that do and do not lead older adults to feel good,” says Dr. Isaacowitz, whose work is focused on emotion in adulthood and old age. “Lately, rather than just describing differences between age groups that could lead to well-being, I’ve tried to make direct links between attention on the one hand and mood on the other. This work is challenging but, I think, ultimately will be important to understanding how and why older adults experience well-being.”

The prestigious award is given to a scholar in any discipline within the social sciences, and only individuals who have received their doctorate within the last ten years are eligible. Typically, winners give a lecture at the Annual Scientific Meeting the following year. Isaacowitz, who earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, is the recipient of several grants from the National Institute of Health, and can claim various other awards for teaching and early career achievement.

It’s good to see eye-tracking technology and the research that utilizes being acknowledged by the scientific community, and it’s likely that more eye-tracking related research will earn recognition in the future.

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