Skip to main content
Intellect

BYU schedules annual Gerontology Conference April 9

Several recognized medical professionals will speak during the 13th Annual Gerontology Conference Wednesday (April 9) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Brigham Young University Conference Center.

The theme of the conference is "Moderating the Effects of Aging," and will begin with a music-therapy session followed by a lecture from Dirk Noyes, a cancer surgeon at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Intermountain Health Care. The conference, parking and lunch are free.

"It is a first-rate conference and includes some of the best experts in the world on gerontological issues," said Steven W. Heiner, conference director and BYU professor of health science.

Other speakers include Thomas E. Finucane from the Johns Hopkins Geriatric Center; Richard Jackson, who will speak about knee and hip replacements, and Chuck Stiggins, who will speak about appropriate exercise programs for seniors.

The conference will include topics that are pertinent to a variety of groups.

"The conference is attended by the aging network in Utah and also gerontology and health students, so we have a multigenerational audience," Heiner said.

The conference will conclude with lectures by Judy Seegmiller, executive vice president of the board of directors for the Utah State Alzheimer's Association, and Doug Whitney and Jeff Robinson, who will speak about fraud protection for the elderly.

The Health Science Department and the School of Family Life, which make up the gerontology discipline at BYU, are sponsoring the conference. For more information, contact Steven Heiner, at (801) 422-2214.

Writer: Liesel Enke

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Forum: Dr. Francis Collins

January 27, 2026
“Faith and reason are hand-in-hand ways that we find answers.”
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Treating addiction with immunotherapy: BYU study links alcohol use and the immune system

January 15, 2026
A new interdisciplinary study from BYU, opens an angle of neuroimmune research that could potentially lead to better medical treatments for individuals with alcohol use disorder. This collaborative research involved 13 students and four professors across three departments in the College of Life Sciences and the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences.

overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

How loud is life behind the glass? BYU study measures sound in shark tanks

January 13, 2026
Sharks at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, Utah, glide silently behind glass walls — but just how silent is their world? A team of BYU researchers set out to discover how much of the aquarium’s daily bustle filters into the shark tank, and whether that noise is affecting the animals who call it home.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=