Welcome to the Health Equity and Aging Laboratory
Who We Are
The Health Equity and Aging Lab (HEAL) focuses on designing community-based, culturally tailored physical activity and dietary interventions for minoritized aging populations. The ultimate goal of our research is to reduce health inequities. Our lab uses a variety of methods, devices, and measures including:
- Qualitative interviews & focus groups
- Actigraph accelerometers
- ActivePAL™ devices
- Veggie Meter®
- NIH Toolbox
- Food Frequency Questionnaires
- Cognitive batteries
News & Events
Latin dance can liven up holiday celebrations and boost health
Family gatherings and workplace parties with mouth-watering spreads are hallmarks of the holiday season. But if you want to boost …
The Impact of Dance on Brain Health
To Improve memory, you may want to ‘step up’ your dance moves. In today’s ‘Staying Well’ segment kinesiologist, Dr. Susan …
Featured Publications
Morales, D., Guzman, J., Soto, Y., & Aguiñaga S. (2024). The Mediterranean and MIND Dietary Patterns: Associations with cognition and psychological distress among Latinos. In J. Angel, F. C. D. Andrade, F. Riosmena, S. Mejia (Eds.), Where worlds meet: growing older in Mexico and aging Latinos in the United States. (2nd ed., pp. 151–165). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48809-2_8
Canton, I., Guzman, J., Soto. Y., Selzer Ninomiya, A. L., Morales, D., & Aguiñaga S. (2024). Isotemporal substitution of sedentary time with physical activity among middle-aged and older Latinos: Effects on episodic memory. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2024;0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171241233404
Aguiñaga, S., Guzman, J., Soto, Y., & Marquez, D. X. (2022). Self-rated health as a predictor of cognition among middle-aged and older Latinos. Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2022.2038070
Aguiñaga, S., Kaushal, N., Balbim, G. M., Wilson, R. S., Wilbur, J. E., Hughes, S., Buchner, D. M., Berbaum, M., McAuley, E., Vásquez, P. M., Marques, I. G., Wang, T., & Marquez, D. X. (2022). Latin dance and working memory: The mediating effects of physical activity among middle-aged and older Latinos. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.755154