María P. Aranda

María P. Aranda holds the Margaret W. Driscoll/Louise M. Clevenger Professorship in Social Policy and Administration at the University of Southern California. She serves as Executive Director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging and Director of the Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core at the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Her research focuses on chronic illness, social resources, and psychological well-being in low-income minority populations.

Education:

• PhD in Social Work, University of Southern California (1995)
• MPA in Public Administration, University of Southern California (1989)
• MSW in Social Work, California State University, Los Angeles (1982)
• BSW in Social Work, California State University, Los Angeles (1979)

Research Interests: Aging, Healthy Aging, Gerontology, Geriatrics, Mental Health (especially depression and dementia), Family Caregiving, Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Workforce Training, and Interdisciplinary Education. Her work emphasizes health disparities among minority populations and practical interventions to improve dementia care.

Publications Trends: Recent work addresses economic burdens of dementia across racial/ethnic groups, caregiver stress mitigation, and digital health innovations for diverse populations. She frequently collaborates on policy-relevant studies about dementia care disparities and workforce development.

Awards:

• 2022 James Jackson Outstanding Mentorship Award (Gerontological Society of America)
• Fellow, Gerontological Society of America (2012-present)
• National Academies Committee Member on Dementia Care Interventions (2018-21)
• California Alzheimer’s Task Force Member (2019-20)

Grants & Leadership:

• Secured $16.5M as Co-I in the USC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
• Principal Investigator for culturally adapted caregiver programs (e.g., $897K SoCal Savvy initiative)
• Co-Director of the Research Education Core at USC’s RCMAR center

Labs/Teams: Leads interdisciplinary teams at the Roybal Institute and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, focusing on outreach for underserved communities and translational dementia research.