Apr 15, 2026 · 13 min · 11 segments
Today, we chat with Dr. Emily Rogalski about the Healthy Aging & Alzheimer's Research Care Center, or HAARC, at the University of Chicago. She also provides a brief update about her SuperAging…
Emily RogalskiGuestJohn BelloneHostRyan Van PattenHostSo, Emily, tell us a little bit about your Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Research Center, HARC, at the University of Chicago.
So I had the opportunity to start a new center at the University of Chicago in 2023, recognizing that there was a lot of aging and dementia research that had been happening at the University of Chicago, but there was no physical home or theoretical space that brought aging and dementia researchers together.
In addition, the south side of Chicago, where University of Chicago is located, is situated in a neighborhood where there is less participation in research historically from groups that are both underrepresented in research but overrepresented in risk for disease.
So our mission really is to be community-oriented, community-driven, and to use a multidisciplinary approach to understand and support individuals in our community and beyond.
So we want to be that hub for discovery and thinking about resilience and resistance.
in there, because we don't want to think about aging just as the negative trajectory, but also to recognize that Alzheimer's and related dementias are still a significant challenge.
And so to hold both can be true, that we want to strive towards health and there are individuals who are healthy, but at the same time, Alzheimer's is such a devastating challenge that we need to recognize that as well.
On our first day of work, one of my favorite stories to share is that we were not in the office, but we were across the street in Washington Park because they were having, the city of Chicago was having an older adults festival.
And so we were there with our super agers and had a panel to talk about healthy aging and to share information.
that we were here in the community and we were able to join with our other colleagues at University of Chicago who have been embedded in this community for a long time.
So we are thankful for the shoulders of giants that we stand on and our community partners and are really focused on how can we reach the community and continue to grow those opportunities.
So, Emily, tell us a little bit about your Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Research Center, HARC, at the University of Chicago.
So I had the opportunity to start a new center at the University of Chicago in 2023, recognizing that there was a lot of aging and dementia research that had been happening at the University of Chicago, but there was no physical home or theoretical space that brought aging and dementia researchers together.
In addition, the south side of Chicago, where University of Chicago is located, is situated in a neighborhood where there is less participation in research historically from groups that are both underrepresented in research but overrepresented in risk for disease.
So our mission really is to be community-oriented, community-driven, and to use a multidisciplinary approach to understand and support individuals in our community and beyond.
So we want to be that hub for discovery and thinking about resilience and resistance.
in there, because we don't want to think about aging just as the negative trajectory, but also to recognize that Alzheimer's and related dementias are still a significant challenge.
And so to hold both can be true, that we want to strive towards health and there are individuals who are healthy, but at the same time, Alzheimer's is such a devastating challenge that we need to recognize that as well.
On our first day of work, one of my favorite stories to share is that we were not in the office, but we were across the street in Washington Park because they were having, the city of Chicago was having an older adults festival.
And so we were there with our super agers and had a panel to talk about healthy aging and to share information.
that we were here in the community and we were able to join with our other colleagues at University of Chicago who have been embedded in this community for a long time.
So we are thankful for the shoulders of giants that we stand on and our community partners and are really focused on how can we reach the community and continue to grow those opportunities.
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