Watch Ron's Interview with Taylor

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:  

Taylor Brennan, a research specialist at MIT’s AgeLab, discusses how intergenerational insights, technology design, and policy can help older adults thrive. A social worker by training with a master’s degree in public health, Taylor co-coordinates the AgeLab’s 85+ Lifestyle Leaders panel and leads studies exploring ageism, vaccination decisions, climate resilience, and the intersection of work and caregiving. She shares how her team uses empathy tools like the AGNES suit to give designers and engineers a first-hand feel for the physical challenges of aging. The conversation delves into intergenerational programs like OMEGA, which connect high school students with older adults, and examines how participation in research itself creates social bonds and counteracts isolation. Listeners will hear about breakthroughs in co-designing AI tools with older adults, the myths and realities of longevity, and why community-driven solutions are essential for healthy aging.                     

ABOUT THE GUEST: 

Taylor Brennan is a Research Specialist at the MIT AgeLab, where she brings a unique blend of social work expertise and data-driven research to the study of aging.  Taylor co-coordinates the MIT AgeLab 85+ Lifestyle Leaders panel, leading AgeLab research on older adult vaccination and preventive health practices, and contributing to research on financial losses preceding a formal dementia diagnosis, the future of advice, and people’s perceptions of longevity. Taylor also works with the Age Gain Now Empathy System (AGNES) and co-manages OMEGA, an intergenerational summit and scholarship program. Taylor's research interests include examining people’s health and wellbeing practices as they age, exploring work as a social determinant of health, and enhancing professional development for workers in the aging services network and in the increasingly multigenerational workforce. Taylor is a doctoral student at Boston College and the immediate past president of Boston Bridge, Inc., a Massachusetts-based professional development organization for leaders in the field of aging. Taylor is a licensed certified social worker (LCSW) and an adjunct faculty member at Simmons University in Boston, MA. Taylor earned her MPH and MSW from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and her BSW from the University of Georgia.

Contact: trpats@mit.edu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tpats/

Website:  https://agelab.mit.edu/