32 FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
unwavering passion for instilling a patient-centered mindset in students drew her back to the hallways of the John Thrasher Building.
For Granville and the team in geriatrics, having Pomidor back supports the continued growth of the college and continues its mission. As Granville reminds her students, the goal is to produce physicians who understand that“ aging is living.”
As a national authority on older driver safety, Pomidor will continue to bridge the gap between clinical care and community safety, using her expertise in one of the most complex of the M’ s of geriatric care: mobility. Her expertise arrives at a pivotal moment as the College of Medicine prepares to transition into a fully integrated academic medical center through its partnership with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare under the FSU Health banner, allowing the department to further expand its impact throughout the community.
“ It’ s not just making a doctor,” Granville said,“ it’ s making a difference in the community in the process.”
With the return of one of its original architects, the Department of Geriatrics is well-positioned to continue making that difference— one student, one patient and one bionic step at a time.
Alzheimer’ s Disease: Mapping the Mind-Body Link
By Patience Moseley FSU College of Medicine
Alzheimer’ s disease is the most common cause of dementia, which impacts over 50 million people worldwide— particularly people over 65. Alzheimer’ s and other dementias impair memory formation and retention, communication, personality and may eventually impact physical capabilities as the disease progresses. How and when these symptoms manifest may be closely related to personality and life experience, according to Antonio Terracciano, Ph. D.
“ People who have a tendency to be more emotional, more anxious and depressed in their lifetime, are at a higher risk of developing dementia sooner,” said Terracciano, a professor in the Florida State University College of Medicine’ s Department of Geriatrics.
“ In essence, dementia risk correlates with life experience and the way we handle stress throughout our lives.”
Consider the brain as a network of highways that carry information to influence the way we think, act and speak. The pathology of Alzheimer’ s disease is