Carl Hill, director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Office of Special Populations, spoke about the impact of mentorship on his research career and efforts to address health disparities at the 2018 Edward R. Roybal Memorial Lecture.

“The more that I age, the more that I think of all the people that helped me along the way,” Hill said. “My hope is to make them proud. Part of doing that is serving in my capacity in my role at the National Institute on Aging.”

Sponsored by the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work with honorary co-host Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, the biennial event honors the late Rep. Edward R. Roybal who was a visionary leader in establishing aging services and a champion for civil rights and equal justice.

“All of this spirit here today is shaped by the late congressman Edward Roybal whose dedicated public service and personal commitment to improving minority aging is well-chronicled, respected and remembered,” Hill said. “This is such an honor to be here to represent NIA in this capacity during this legacy event.”

Hill leads the NIA’s efforts to stimulate health disparities research related to aging by facilitating studies focused on health disparities, supporting research and training efforts targeting underrepresented groups and directing the NIA Butler-Williams Scholars Program for early career aging researchers, among other initiatives.

Power of Mentorship

Hill started his research career at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. There he had the opportunity to be mentored by some of the pioneers in the field of minority aging, including James S. Jackson and Robert J. Taylor—both of whom were recipients of the Pearmain Prize for Excellence in Research on Aging.

The award is given out at every Roybal Memorial Lecture to honor a scholar who best exemplifies outstanding sustained contributions to the field of translational aging research.

This year’s recipient was Peggye Dilworth-Anderson, professor of Health Policy and Management in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, whom Hill also recognized as a mentor.

Hill said Taylor had a genuine passion for mentoring and would often pull up a chair and strike up conversations with him, though they did not have a formal mentor-mentee relationship.

“The effect our casual conversations had on my understanding of the complex and dynamic factors that influenced minority aging continues to be profound,” Hill said.

He also said more can be done to address health disparities in the United States, but that change starts with deeply connecting with others.

“At the end of the day, we know that our progress will depend on connections, relationships [and] people. Relationships that build bridges to new horizons,” Hill said.

Aranda New Executive Director

At the event, María Aranda, one of the nation’s leading experts in the study of adults living with medical, functional and psychiatric illnesses, was publicly announced as the new executive director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging.

Speaking on behalf of the Roybal family, Roybal-Allard said she was pleased with Aranda’s appointment as the first woman to serve as executive director of the institute since it moved to USC.

“Her appointment just marks another milestone for the institute that bears my father’s name and stands as his legacy,” Roybal-Allard said.

Named for the late congressman Edward R. Roybal, the institute’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for older adults and persons aging with disabilities through research, innovation and advocacy.

“I’m confident with her leadership that the USC Roybal Institute will continue to make gains in research and especially improve our focus on diverse aging populations in Los Angeles—those in the Latino, African American and Asian American communities in particular,” said Marilyn Flynn, dean of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.

The event also featured the presentation of the USC Roybal Institute Community Partnership Award to Elizabeth Jimenez, project director of the multi-purpose senior services program at the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.