View Publications Sara J. Czaja, Ph.D.
Co-founder and CSO: Aging
Sara J. Czaja is a Professor of Gerontology and the Director of the Center on Aging and Behavioral Research at Weill Cornell College of Medicine. She is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the former Director of the Center on Aging at the University of Miami. She is also the Director of the Center on Research and Education for Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE).
CREATE, funded by the National Institute on Aging involves collaboration with the University of Miami, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida State University and the University of Illinois. The focus of CREATE is on the interface between older adults and technology systems in work, healthcare and living settings.
Sara is also the Co-Director of a newly funded Center for Enhancing Neurocognitive Health, Abilities, Networks, & Community Engagement (ENHANCE). The Center is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.
Dr. Czaja has extensive experience in aging research and a long commitment to developing strategies to improve the quality of life for older adults.
Her research interest includes: Aging and cognition, aging and healthcare access and service delivery, family caregiving, aging and technology, human-computer interaction, training, and functional assessment. She has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health, Administration on Aging, National Science Foundation, the Markle and Langeloth Foundations, AT&T, and IBM to support her research. Dr. Czaja is very well published in the field of aging and has written numerous books, book chapters and scientific articles and servers on the editorial board of several top tier journals. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the Gerontological Society of America. She is also Past President of Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of the American Psychological Association.
She is also a member of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences Board on Human Systems Integration. She served as a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Public Health Dimensions of Cognitive Aging and as a member of the IOM Committee on Family Caregiving for Older Adults. She also served on The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Dr. Czaja is also the recipient of the 2015 M. Powell Lawton Distinguished Contribution Award for Applied Gerontology, of the Gerontological Society of America, the 2013 Social Impact Award for the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the 2013 Jack A. Kraft Award for Innovation from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.