Physical Dimensions of Aging Tapa dura - 2005

Waneen W. Spirduso, EdD, is the Oscar and Anne Mauzy Regents Professor in the department of kinesiology and health education at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin. She was chair of the UT (Austin) department of kinesiology and health education for 14 years and served as interim dean of the College of Education for 2-1/2 years. Since 1975 her academic interests, research, and presentations have focused on issues central to gerontology and kinesiology, and her research programs have been sponsored by four of the National Institutes of Health and several local foundations. A widely published author, Dr. Spirduso is also a popular speaker at conferences across the United States. She is the recipient of many honors and awards, including recognition as the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Scholar in 1986 and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Scholar (AAHPERD) in 1987. She served two terms as president of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and one term as president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education (AAKPE). Dr. Spirduso is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a member of AAHPERD, ACSM, and AAKPE.

Karen L. Francis, PhD, is an assistant professor in the department of exercise and sport science at the University of San Francisco. She received her master's degree and PhD in motor control and learning and a doctoral portfolio in gerontology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Francis' primary research interest is in the loss of hand motor control that occurs with aging. She is a member of the Gerontological Society of America, the Society for Neuroscience, and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity.

Priscilla Gilliam MacRae, PhD, is professor of sports medicine and director of the Motor Behavior Laboratory at Pepperdine University. She received her MS from the University of Arizona and her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California. MacRae has published 38 research articles and book chapters, presented in national and international meetings, and received the Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Award from Pepperdine University. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), AARP Andrus Foundation, Jewish Homes for the Aging, California Physical Therapy Association, and Pepperdine University. Dr. MacRae is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and a member of the Southwest Chapter of ACSM, the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), the Society for Neuroscience, and the Gerontological Society of America.

Dr. MacRae's research focuses on effects of exercise on physiological and psychological aspects of aging. Her current research focuses on how older adults acquire new motor skills, including changes in older adults' ability to control force in a visuomotor tasks that involve precision and speed. Her research populations have included older adults at many levels of function, from elite female marathoners to nursing-home residents.