Center for Aging Well

A new era of health and wellness

Vision and Mission

To catalyze a new era of health and wellness by leveraging science, technology, and compassion to ensure and maximize well-being for all.

To lead global, interdisciplinary research and education that transform discovery into innovation—advancing wellness across the lifespan. Through advocacy and collaboration, the Center for Aging Well (CAW) shifts health care from treatment to prevention, making wellness in aging the universal standard for all.

From the Director

Miia Kivipelto, MD, PhD
Rodman Family Professor of Gerontology

We have entered a new era of longevity—where living longer must also mean living well. Yet the global rise in cognitive decline and chronic disease demands bold, systemic change.

The CAW leads this tranformation by advancing precision prevention, early detection, and whole-person wellness. Through global collaboration, innovation, and nursing leadership, we transform discovery into impact—creating a future where aging is not managed but optimized, and every added year of life is filled with vitality, purpose, and connection.

Areas of Impact

Early Detection

Harnessing data, design, and discovery to identify risk early and intervene holistically through precision-focused, integrated care.

Combination Tools

Integrating lifestyle, pharmacologic, and technological strategies to optimize prevention and healthy longevity.

Non-Pharmacological Interventions

Advancing lifestyle-based and human-centered approaches where connection becomes the most powerful medicine for lifelong wellness.

Mental & Emotional Well-Being

Championing emotional resilience, purpose, and joy as essential to aging well.

Age-Friendly Systems

Designing ecosystems where every generation thrives, guided by nurses driving innovation across health, technology, and policy.

Brain Health and Dementia Prevention & Care

Transforming dementia science through precision prevention, compassionate care, and global partnerships that protect brain health for life.

Cultivating Resilience

Reimagining chronic illness as a pathway to independence and inclusion, helping people live fully, not just longer.

Education & Workforce Transformation

Preparing nurse leaders and interdisciplinary professionals to drive the future of longevity science and compassionate innovation.

Strategic Priorities

Innovate: Create new ways to improve health and wellness.

Change Culture: Focus on prevention over curing illness.

Collaborate: Bring together experts in aging, wellness, and brain health.

Spread the Word: Share knowledge with individuals and communities.

Sustain: Invest in enduring systems—data, mentorship networks, and global alliances.

Who We Bring Together

Scholars and Scientists
Students and Trainees
Clinicians and Public Health Leaders
Community Partners and Advocates
Health Systems and Policymakers
Nonprofits
Grassroots Organizations
Individuals
Families

multiple people with their hands stacked on top of each other in the center

Our Distinctive Approach

Translational Power
Turning discovery into impact—transforming molecular insights and precision wellness research into innovations that help people live longer, healthier, more meaningful lives.

Interdisciplinary Intelligence
Thinking beyond silos by uniting nursing, neuroscience, data science, design, and policy to redefine the future of aging.

Global to Local — Local to Global
Connecting Yale’s excellence with communities worldwide—from Connecticut to Kenya—through partnerships that advance wellness across cultures and continents.

Prevention and Wellness
Creating scalable solutions that prevent illness, sustain dignity, and keep humanity at the heart of science and innovation.

The Next Generation
Educating nurse leaders and interdisciplinary scholars to shape the wellness and longevity economy and transform health systems.

Radical Collaboration
Converging dreamers and doers—bridging academia, health systems, and industry to tackle the world’s most complex aging challenges.