William A. Vega, the executive director of the Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the USC School of Social Work, gave the opening keynote presentation at the 2010 International Conference on Aging in the Americas.

The conference was held Sept. 15-17 during National Hispanic Heritage Month at the University of Texas at Austin. Leading researchers in the field of Latino health and aging addressed key issues affecting a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population. Latino elders are the fastest growing ethnic subgroup of elders in the United States, with the population of Latino elders 65 years and older expected to increase six-fold by 2050.

Vega discussed the issues surrounding "aging in place" for Latino elders in his talk. The term "aging in place" refers to the ability to retain an appropriate level of independent living in one's community and place of residence for as long as comfortably possible. He said the current human services, public health and healthcare systems fail to promote and sustain optimal functioning for Latino elders to "age in place" in low-income communities.

The conference was organized by a group of leading scholars in the field of minority health and aging, which included Kyriakos Markides. Markides, one of the foremost scholars on aging and health issues affecting the Mexican-American population, was the first recipient of the Roybal Institute's Pearmain Prize for Excellence in Research on Aging.

Named in honor of the late Rep. Edward R. Roybal, the Roybal Institute is dedicated to translational research, policy advocacy and training that improves the health, mental health and care of older persons, particularly those from low-income and multiethnic backgrounds. Vega, one of the nation's preeminent experts on health disparities that affect aging ethnic minority populations, was named the Roybal Institute's executive director earlier this year.