Dr. Jennifer Higgins
PhD in Gerontology 2003
A graduate of the Gerontology Ph.D. Program at the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Higgins presently recruits participants for clinical trials involving older adults at Springfield Neurology Associates, LLC. For her dissertation, she conducted a nationwide study of senior center gambling policies designed to regulate problem gambling. Results of the preliminary analyses conducted for this dissertation have recently been published in the Journal of Aging and Social Policy and the Journal of Aging Studies. Dr. Higgins has presented her work at gambling conferences in the United States and Canada.
Over the course of her academic career, Dr. Higgins conducted policy analyses and participated in numerous research projects at the University of Massachusetts/Boston Gerontology Institute, the Boston University School of Social Work, Simmons College School of Social Work, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. In 2002, she was invited to join an Expert Panel of problem gambling clinicians and academics at the University of Windsor Ontario for the purpose of designing the first senior problem gambling diagnostic tool.
Over the past two years, Dr. Higgins has worked as a social worker at the Amherst and Ware Senior Centers and the Northampton Council on Aging where she facilitated support groups for older adult caregivers, mature lesbians and others.
Dr. Jennifer Higgins
PhD in Gerontology 2003
Current Employment: Springfield Neurology Associates, LLC, Research Associate/Recruitment Specialist