James Lubben, DSW, MPH
Professor Lubben is National Principal Investigator and National Director of the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program, a component of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation. Professor Lubben is also a member of the national advisory board for the Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program. He was the founding director of the California Geriatric Social Work Faculty Development Program and served 12 years on the Congressionally mandated National Advisory Committee on Gerontology and Geriatrics for the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Formerly the Associate Dean and Director of the Social Welfare Program at UCLA, Professor Lubben actively promoted the development of gerontology and social work at UCLA by serving as a principal investigator or collaborator on more than $20 million (direct costs) of research and training grants. His major research agenda examines social support networks among older populations. He has developed an abbreviated social network scale for both research and clinical use among older populations. Many of his studies involve cross-cultural and cross-national comparisons. Dr. Lubben has been a visiting scholar in Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. He has served as a special consultant and technical advisor for the World Health Organization - Kobe Centre for Health Development regarding community health care for ageing societies. Dr. Lubben is currently the Louise McMahon Ahearn University Chair at Boston College.