MDPI International Day of Older Persons 2025

Senior Medical Staff, Vitreoretinal Surgery, Director of Ophthalmic Research, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center;Dr. David J. Ramsey is Director of Ophthalmic Research and Tele-Ophthalmology in the Division of Ophthalmology at UMass Chan–Lahey School of Medicine, Department of Surgery. His research centers on the prevention, detection, and management of diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications, meeting abstracts, and textbook chapters. Dr. Ramsey earned his M.D.-Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an M.P.H. in Health Policy & Administration from the UIC School of Public Health. He completed residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins, and a vitreoretinal fellowship at Massachusetts Eye & Ear, Harvard Medical School. A diplomate and Examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology, he specializes in retinal diseases, performing surgery and providing care in Peabody and Burlington, Massachusetts. He is Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at UMass Chan and Tufts, and faculty at the New England College of Optometry in Boston.

Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine & Institute of Neuroscience, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona;Lydia Giménez-Llort graduated from Universitat de Barcelona (UB) with a Degree in Biology, Master in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Ph.D. in Biology - Anatomical Pathology Program. She completed Postdoc in Neuroscience at  Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and in Psychiatry at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). She also obtained two master degrees in Psychology - Basic and Advanced Problem Solving Strategies from CTs di Arezzo, Italy – Barcelona. She holds a second Ph.D., in Psychiatry, from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where she is currently a Full Professor in Psychiatry. Her Translational Behavioral Neuroscience Lab is also part of the Institut de Neurociències, UAB. She serves as a member of the Service of Equality and Diversity UAB and Head of Gender Medicine at the School of Medicine. She was a member of European COST-Action TD1005, experts on Pain in impaired cognition, especially Dementias, and developers of the metatool PAIC-15.

Full Professor at University of Beira Interior, Sports Sciences Department;Mário Cardoso Marques is a Full Professor of Sports Science at the University of Beira Interior and has published over 200 articles listed in the Web of Science, with an H-index of 40. These results indicate that his work has been recognized and studied by numerous researchers worldwide and has contributed to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of Sports Science. In 2023, Stanford University listed Mário Cardoso Marques among the top 2% of scientists. In recent years, he has led, as principal investigator, several funded scientific projects to analyze the impact of strength training on physical fitness, cognitive function, and the reversal of physical frailty in individuals living in residential facilities for the elderly.

Professor of Clinical Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery. Faculty of Health: Medicine, Dentistry and Human Sciences, University of Plymouth;Prof. Dr. Schofield is an RGN and she was recognised internationally for her contribution to the field of pain and ageing by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). She has been involved in work around pain and dementia which includes dental pain and pain assessment. Other studies include a COST collaboration in the development of a pain assessment tool specifically for adults with dementia. An MRC funded programme which examined the self-management of chronic pain amongst the older population. She is currently working on an NIHR funded study on pain and frailty and she is starting an NIHR study on overprescribing analgesics in the older population. She has authored the National Guidelines on both Pain Assessment in Older adults and Pain Management in Older adults. Her other areas of work include collaboration with UNMASS on a falls study and CORNELL on technology for pain management in the older population. She has previously been awarded The Distinguished Contribution Award for Pain in Older Persons (IASP) and an Honorary Diploma in Pain Medicine. She is currently a council member of the Social Care Nursing Advisory Council and a member of The Devon Care Homes Collaborative, Global Observatory of Long Term Care and Queens Nursing Institute. She also facilitates a National Special interest group for care homes. Her research expertise includes mixed methods, ethnography and co-design approaches.

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Advancing Population Science, Medical College of Wisconsin;Dr. Aprill Dawson is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and the Center for Advancing Population Science (CAPS) at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She has a Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of Texas Houston Health Science Center in International Maternal and Child Health, and a PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Science from the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Dawson is a health services researcher focused on developing innovative interventions that integrate social determinants of health to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. She has more than 70 publications, and is funded by the American Diabetes Association and the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to test the preliminary efficacy of lifestyle and behavioral interventions on clinical outcomes in older adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes.

Professor in the Physical Education Department and Postgraduate Program of Health Sciences Montes Claros State University Head of the Group of Studies and Research in Neuroscience, Exercise, Health, and Sport (GENESEs);Research Productivity Fellow at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. PhD in Neuroscience, Master’s in Exercise and Sport Sciences, Postdoctoral degree in Psychiatry, Bachelor’s in Physical Education, and Technical degree in Gerontology. Professor in the Graduate Program (Master’s and Doctorate degrees) in Health Sciences at the State University of Montes Claros. At this university, he is also a professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport, and Head of the Research and Study Group on Neuroscience, Exercise, Health, and Sport (GENESEs). His research field is Neuroscience and Physical Exercise. Has experience teaching the following disciplines: Exercise Physiology, Exercise and Health, Neuroscience and Health, Human Physiology, Gerontology, Research Methodology, and Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. He has supervised 13 Master’s and 7 PhD students.