Jung Kwak, PhD, MSW, FGSA, associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, has been awarded a Faculty Travel Planning Grant from Texas Global to support a cross-national collaboration aimed at advancing person-centered dementia care in aging societies.
Her project, “Advancing Person-Centered Dementia Care in Super-Ageing Societies: Cross-National Collaboration Between UT Austin and University of Hyogo,” builds on connections initiated earlier this year when researchers from the University of Hyogo visited the School of Nursing. During their January 2025 visit, Kwak met them and learned about the university’s research program, which led to the formation of this new international partnership.
With the support of this travel grant, Kwak will visit the University of Hyogo in Japan to collaborate with Dr. Miho Takami and her team, recognized experts in person-centered dementia care and gerotranscendence-based interventions. As a leading researcher in person-centered dementia care, Kwak seeks to deepen her understanding of Japan’s community-integrated care models and assess their adaptability to varied health care systems, particularly in the U.S.
Texas Global’s Faculty Travel Planning Grants offer up to $2,500 in travel funding and are awarded semiannually to help UT Austin faculty establish international connections in support of future global engagement projects. Since the program’s launch in 2021, these grants have supported faculty across campus in building partnerships that strengthen the university’s global mission.