GATHER Lab

The GATHER (Generating Aging and Translational Health Equity Research) Lab is a collaborative research effort led by Dr. Raven Weaver & Dr. Cory Bolkan.

The world population is changing and for the first time in human history, there are more older people than children. In the U.S., 20% of the population will be aged 65 and older within a decade (U.S. Census Bureau). The dramatic increases in life expectancy have greatly altered the experience of aging for individuals, families, communities, and societies and create many unique opportunities and urgent challenges for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.

Adult development and aging are complex, multifaceted processes of growth and change that unfold over an entire lifetime, from birth to death. We recognize that early life experiences, as well as accumulated advantage and disadvantage, shape outcomes in later life and that intersectional identities (e.g., race, age, class, ability, gender, sexual orientation) are associated with unequal aging due to differences in power, resources, and life chances. We believe in the integration of research from diverse perspectives to improve health and achieve health equity.

The overall aims of our research are to improve the health and well-being of a diverse population of older adults and their families, prepare and strengthen the future geriatric workforce, and inform local and national aging policies and programs.

Land Acknowledgement 

The GATHER Lab is co-located across Washington state in the cities of Pullman and Vancouver. In Pullman, the lab is located on the homelands of the Palus people and the lands of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) Tribe. In Vancouver, the lab is located on the homelands of Chinookan and Taidnapam peoples and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. We would like to acknowledge their presence here since time immemorial and recognize their continuing connection to the land, the water, and their ancestors. We also want to thank these communities, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations.