Britney Veal, a PhD student in the School of Aging Studies, was awarded a Dissertation Completion Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies for the 2024 spring semester. Veal's study examines cognitive change before and after retirement and explores moderation by reasons for retirement, occupation, and sleep.
Veal's dissertation will examine modifiable pre-retirement and health behavior factors in the association between cognitive change before and after retirement using a nationally representative dataset of older Americans. Veal hopes her dissertation will provide novel information about the factors that contribute to or ameliorate cognitive aging during retirement, which will assist in designing policies and making recommendations to future retirees.
"Upon learning about being awarded the Dissertation Completion Fellowship for spring 2024, my initial reaction was an overwhelming sense of gratitude and excitement," said Veal. The financial support and the unique opportunity to focus solely on my dissertation are very important for me to graduate. This fellowship not only acknowledges the value of my research but also underscores the department's commitment to supporting graduate students in their academic pursuits."
Professor Hongdao Meng, MD, MPH PhD serves as Veal's major professor.