Join us for
Brain Health Through Lifestyle:
Walking to Remember
Featured Speaker:Laura Fink DeFina, MD, FACP, FAHA
Wed.Wednesday, January 20, 2027
Westwood Country Club
Lecture and Luncheon Begin at NOON
Purchase Tickets for this event. Space is limited.
This lecture and luncheon features Laura Fink DeFina. Dr. DeFina attended Northwestern University and completed medical school at the George Washington University School of Medicine, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She finished her medical training in Internal Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and served 12 years in the United States Army rising to the rank of Major. Prior to joining The Cooper Institute, Dr. DeFina practiced internal medicine at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, geriatric medicine at the Baylor Senior Health Network, and, ultimately, found her passion in preventive healthcare at the world-renowned Cooper Clinic.
Dr. DeFina has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Cooper Institute since 2014. She joined The Cooper Institute research division in 2009 as the Medical Director. Since 2013 as Chief Science Officer, she has led the development and implementation of the institute’s research agenda focused primarily on the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study as well as the development of strategic partnerships with academic centers, researchers, and industry stakeholders. Dr. DeFina has authored more than 100 manuscripts on a variety of prevention topics, including healthy aging, brain health, and cardiorespiratory fitness. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Heart Association. In 2012, she received the Steven N. Blair Award for Excellence in Physical Activity Research from the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Council for her research on fitness and dementia. She served on the Data Safety Monitoring Board and Translational Advisory Board for two NIH-funded multi-center studies.
Officers
Char Hu, Ph.D, President
Laura Beuerlein, Vice President
Ava Late, Treasurer
Sheri Krause, Secretary
Rita Hortenstine, Past President
Members of the Board of Directors
Ed Clements
Julie Crenshaw
Munro Cullum, Ph.D
Bobby Jenkins
DK Reynolds
Linda Shaunessy, JD
Debbie Hanna - Advisor to the Board