Past Speaker
Pamela Z. Cacchione, PhD
Seminar Title: Social and Assistive Technologies in Care of Older Adults
Presentation Date: 7/14/2026
Presentation Time: 11:00 AM
Seminar Details: Dr. Cacchione will be presenting her research with different types of robots and technologies with older adults. She will share studies with different types of social assitive robots as well as robots to support activities of daily living and physical function. Additionally she will share her work with a digital pet therapy APP and Heart Failure Monitoring Socks that measure response to treatment as well as heart failure exacerbations.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Cacchione is the Ralston House Term Chair in Gerontological Nursing and Professor of Geropsychiatric Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She is a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner (GNP) who has practiced for over 30 years across the care continuum. She is a nurse leader, scientist and innovator. She has served as the President of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association, the Health Sciences Chair for the Gerontological Society of America and the Chair of the Aging Panel for the American Academy of Nursing. Her research investigates the use of social and rehabilitative robots for older adults. She is passionate about improving lives of older adults and persons with chronic illnesses, particularly heart failure. She has a Penn UP Start Company, AgingSense Where she focuses on developing technologies. She developed Heart Failure Monitoring Socks which are under the first phase of testing with persons with heart failure. Dr Cacchione received her BSN from Villanova University, MSN as a GNP from Marymount University and PhD from Saint Louis University. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of Iowa in intervention research. Dr. Cacchione is a Fellow in the Gerontological Society of American and the American Academy of Nursing.
Seminar Objectives:
- Recognize the importance of human-centered design when developing technologies to support older adults
- Learn the importance of setting up realistic expectations of what can be expected from different types of technologies
- Gain insights into how to engage older adults in research
Past Speaker
Sanggon Nam, PhD
Seminar Title: Aging, Mobility, and Health Equity Lessons from Older Mexican Americans and Diverse Older Adults
Presentation Date: 7/17/2026
Presentation Time: 11:00 AM
Seminar Details: Join us for this critical Grand Rounds seminar addressing aging, mobility, and health equity in rapidly diversifying older adult populations. This interdisciplinary session bridges longitudinal research with clinical excellence, equipping healthcare providers with actionable frameworks to treat lower-body function as a clinical vital sign while delivering culturally responsive, ‘Age-Friendly’ care that directly addresses the unique disparities faced by diverse older adults.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Sanggon Nam is an Associate Professor of Public Health in the School of Nursing at Azusa Pacific University, with over 15 years of experience specializing in social epidemiology, minority aging, and health disparities. A recognized expert in health policy and public health preparedness, he has secured major federal funding, including a $5 million HRSA grant, and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals using advanced biostatistics and machine learning. Dr. Nam actively bridges research and practice through leadership roles with the California Department of Public Health’s Climate and Health Equity Advisory Group, the NNPHI PH LEADS Steering Committee, and past work as a county epidemiologist. Dedicated to inclusive teaching and mentorship, he serves on his university’s Diversity Council and has advised over 200 graduate theses and dissertations. He holds a Ph.D. in Preventive Medicine and Community Health from the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Seminar Objectives:
- Analyze how population aging, the rapid expansion of the oldest-old cohort (ages 75 and 85+), and shifting U.S. racial and ethnic demographics require equity-focused geriatric systems.
- Explain the mechanisms behind the “Hispanic paradox,” specifically evaluating how socioeconomic disadvantage intersects with favorable survival outcomes, and how migration selectivity and behaviors drive this effect.
- Interpret data from the Hispanic EPESE to differentiate how disability prevalence (ADL and mobility limitations) varies sharply when intersecting a patient’s gender with their country of birth.
- Establish gait and lower-body performance metrics as actionable clinical vital signs capable of predicting long-term disability, caregiving burden, and 13-year mortality.
- Connect central adiposity, body mass index (BMI), and type 2 diabetes disparities to practical independence preservation and disability prevention rather than just cardiovascular metrics.
- Integrate evidence regarding structural barriers, coronary heart disease (CHD) treatment gaps, and social determinants of health (SDOH) into actionable, culturally responsive practices using the 4Ms framework.
