Dementia Series
The “Ask the Dementia Expert” educational Lunch and Learn series is intended for Aging Services professionals, caregivers of persons living with ADRD, and anyone with an interest in matters concerning older adults. The series will provide an opportunity to engage a dementia expert on topics related to cognitive health, dementia care, caregiving, local services and support.
Johns Hopkins Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (JHGWEP) and MAC INC. Living Well Center of Excellence (LWCE) are pleased to announce our new professional development and community education monthly lunch and learn program titled “Ask the Dementia Expert” to help address this growing health crisis.
NEXT UP: June 18: “What is LATE” Limbic-predominant Age-related TDP-43 Encephalopathy (LATE) is a common, slow-progressing dementia affecting people over 80, characterized by memory loss, word-finding trouble, and executive function issues.
Lunch & Learn Dementia Series 2026
Webinar dates and topics will be announced soon.
The Lunch and Learn Series is offered the third Thursday of every month, from 12:15 to 1 pm. By registering –
Receive the monthly Zoom link to Lunch and Learn Dementia Series 2026
Webinar recordings of completed sessions
Resources recommended by Dementia Experts
Next Up
With Daniel Mansour, PharmD, MS, AGSF, BCGP, FASCP. Dr. Mansour is the director of education and interprofessional clinical training for the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Dr. Daniel Mansour completed his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Master of Science in Palliative Care at the University of Maryland Graduate School, and specialized residency training in geriatrics at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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PAST EVENTS & RESOURCES
Webinar Title
April 16
Dementia and Aging Programs and Initiatives
Speaker
Mobility and Fall Prevention in Caring for Persons with Dementia
from Dennis Klima, PT, MS, PhD, DPT, FNAP, Board-Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist Board-Certified Neurologic Clinical Specialist, Professor Department of Physical Therapy University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
March 19
Dementia and Aging Programs and Initiatives
Speaker
Mark Tesoro, MA, Cognitive Behavioral Health Specialist shares the dementia and aging programs and initiatives of the Maryland Department of Aging.
Webinar Recording & Resources
Are you a member of a Geriatric Healthcare Team working with patients at risk for or living with Dementia? Join us for our new Maryland Project ECHO® Dementia (MED) educational series. Click to learn more.
Webinar Title
Feb. 19
Medications, Part 2: Diagnostic Testing for Dementia and Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
Speaker
Dr. Lolita Nidadavolu, MD, PhD – Geriatrician Lolita Nidadavolu has clinical expertise in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of older adults with memory issues and dementia. After earning medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Nidadavolu completed residency training in internal medicine at Brown University and fellowship training in geriatric medicine and gerontology at The Johns Hopkins University, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in translational aging research.
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
Jan. 15
Current Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease
Speaker
Dr. Lolita Nidadavolu, MD, PhD – Geriatrician Lolita Nidadavolu has clinical expertise in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of older adults with memory issues and dementia. After earning medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Nidadavolu completed residency training in internal medicine at Brown University and fellowship training in geriatric medicine and gerontology at The Johns Hopkins University, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in translational aging research.
Webinar Title
DEC. 18
Music Therapy for Patients with Dementia
Speaker
With Amanda Rosado, MMT, LPMT, MT-BC, a MD-state licensed, nationally board certified music therapist, dedicated to holding supportive music experiences from community-centered and trauma-informed approaches. As a music therapist of 16 years, Amanda has worked in a variety of settings, supporting teens, adults, and older adults with a variety of lived experiences such as mood disorders, trauma, neurological disorders, dementia, neurodivergence, chronic illness, cancer support, and end-of-life partnership. Amanda supports goal areas related to identity building, trauma recovery, emotion regulation, coping, and grief processing. A native of Maryland, she currently resides in Lincoln, NE where she continues to provide telehealth, community-based group programming and hospice support.
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
NOV. 20
Advance Care Planning for a Person with Dementia
Topic
What does Advance Care Planning include? Can they participate in their advance care plans? What is a MOLST form? Can they make changes once signed?
Speaker
Valerie T. Cotter, DrNP, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University with a joint appointment in the School of Nursing and School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She brings four decades of experience specializing in gerontology and conducts ongoing research in aging, dementia, gerontology and palliative care. Passionate about the psycho-social implications of a dementia diagnosis on her patients and families, Dr. Cotter continues to advocate for individualized patient care through her work.
Webinar Recording & Resources
⦿ The Conversation Project – Your conversation starter guide for caregiver’s of people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
⦿ Downloadable Advance Directive Forms
⦿ My Directives Department of Health website
⦿ 5 Wishes is a living will, or advance directive, that outlines your personal, emotional, spiritual and medical preferences. It lets you choose the person who will make health care decisions for you if you’re unable to do so. Written with help from the nation’s leading experts in end-of-life care, Five Wishes is free and easy to use—just check a box, circle a direction or write a few sentences.
⦿ Maryland Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment Form (MOLST)
Webinar Title
OCT 16
Preparing for the Holidays for Caregivers
Topic
Holidays can be challenging under the best of circumstances, and when you are a care partner for someone with cognitive changes, even more so! Join us to hear strategies for not only keeping your sanity but thriving during the holiday season.
Speaker
Marti Brown Bailey, BS, CSA, CDP, CADDCT, CLYL of Support for Aging has made older adults her priority for most of her life, both as a volunteer and vocationally. In 2005, when her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, learning about cognition impairing illnesses became her passion. At Sibley Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins, she founded the Club Memory® program, which supports people and their families as they journey through Alzheimer’s and related illnesses. She started Support for Aging in 2024 to provide skill building, coaching, and education to help make life better for older adults and their families, especially those living with neurocognitive changes.
Webinar Title
SEPT 18
Preventing Falls in Dementia Patients
Falls Risk Self-Assessment
This self-assessment tool developed by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) provides consumers with a falls risk score and follow-up contact with resources based on their falls risk.
Please visit: https://www.ncoa.org/tools/falls-free-checkup/
Topic
Falls continue to be a national public health concern. Falls Prevention Awareness Week is a national health campaign observed on the first day of fall to increase awareness around falls health and injury prevention.
Falls Prevention Awareness Week runs September 21-27, 2025.
This year’s theme is “From Awareness to Action”.
Speaker
Dennis Klima, PT, MS, PhD, DPT, FNAP,
Board-Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist, Board-Certified Neurologic Clinical Specialist
Professor Department of Physical Therapy University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
AUG 21
Managing Urinary Incontinence and Bowel Elimination
Topic
- What to expect with bladder function in a person with dementia.
- How to best manage urinary tract incontinence.
- What about difficulty with bowel elimination?
- What strategies may promote bowell function?
Speaker
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
JULY 24
Managing Difficult Behaviors
Topic
What are common behaviors that are challenging when caring for someone with dementia?
Can you provide tips for these behaviors to assist caregivers?
Should you involve your healthcare team about these behaviors?
Are medications helpful and if so what should caregivers be aware of?
Speaker
Kevin Grunden, Speech Language Pathologist at InnovAge PACE, Charlottesville
Webinar Title
JUNE 26
Depression & Delirium-Understanding the Difference and How They May Present in a Person with Dementia
Topic
- How does depression present in older adults?
- Can it be mistaken for dementia?
- Can a person with dementia be depressed?
- Is there a treatment?
- What is delirium?
- Is it hard to recognize in a person with dementia?
- Is there treatment for delirium?
Speaker
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
MAY 15
Understanding the Non-Alzheimer's dementias!
Topic
- What are other non-Alzheimer’s disease dementias including their pathology and how they present. (including vascular, Lewy Body, and frontotemporal dementia)
- Are there treatments for these types of dementias?
Speaker
| Haroon Burhanullah, MD is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University. He received fellowship training from Johns Hopkins University. He works at the Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center and oversees the operations of novel disease-modifying treatment, Anti amyloid therapies like Lecanemab in Alzheimer’s disease. He is also Director of Consultation Liaison service in the ED. He is currently serving as a steering committee member of the Perioperative and Cognition PIA of Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Burhanullah is recipient of the National Institute of Aging award on the use of artificial intelligence in the management of delirium and its association with cognition. He is the author of several peer-reviewed articles published at various American Journals and a reviewer of internationally renowned journals. |
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
APRIL 17
Parkinson's Disease and Dementia
Topic
Speaker
Dr. Howard Weiss is a neurologist in Baltimore, MD and is affiliated with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. He received his medical degree from Northwestern University School of Medicine and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Weiss has been in clinical practice since 1977, with special focus on Parkinson disease for the past 15 years. He is the author of numerous publications in peer reviewed journals and has won several prestigious teaching awards, including “teacher of the year” for the voluntary faculty at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in 2019. Dr. Weiss has received wide acclaim for his recently published “Parkinson Primer” which has been distributed free of charge to medical professionals around the world.
Dr. Weiss has retired from clinical practice in 2022, but is remaining active teaching and lecturing
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
MARCH 20
Impact of Hearing Loss on Cognition
Topic
- Can you describe age related changes in hearing?
- How does hearing loss impact cognition?
- What are risk factors that impact hearing?
- Does obtaining a hearing aide reverse changes?
- What is the best way to have hearing evaluated?
- Does dementia impact hearing?
Speaker
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
FEBRUARY 20
Promoting Brain Health
Topic
What are normal age changes in memory?
- How does MCI fit in?
- What actions can we take to promote brain health? (Including diet, physical activity, social engagement, brain games)
- Does alcohol and cannabis impact brain health?
- Should we take supplements such as vitamins, brain health supplements we see advertise?
Speaker
Dr. Jessica Colburn is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her area of clinical expertise is geriatric medicine.
She earned her M.D. from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and performed a fellowship in geriatric medicine and gerontology at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Colburn’s clinical and educational research is focused on primary care of older adults and teaching learners to care for older adults.
Webinar Recording & Resources
Webinar Title
JANUARY 16
Understanding the term dementia and how Alzheimer's disease fits in
Topic
- What does it mean when you hear the term dementia?
- What causes Alzheimer’s disease & what are risk factors, including is it hereditary?
- Is there a specific test to diagnose it?
- What is the progression of Alzheimer’s disease?
Speaker
Dr. Cynthia D. Fields, Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry Neuropsychiatry Expertise
Education
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Fellowship, Neuropsychiatry, 2010
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Fellowship, Geriatric Psychiatry, 2009
Tulane University School of Medicine, Residency, Psychiatry, 2008
University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Medical Education, MD, 2004