By Grace Niewijk / BSD News
On the day before her 111th birthday in late July, Edith Renfrow Smith wasn’t sitting still. She was busy teaching a young visitor how to bake a cherry-raspberry pie.
It was more than recalling a familiar recipe; it was a hands-on lesson — warm, precise and delivered with the easy authority of a woman who has spent more than a century turning grit into grace.
Smith, the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College, is one of Chicago’s oldest residents, and her days are busy with cooking, reading and dispensing practical wisdom.
“The word ‘can’t’ is not in my vocabulary,” she said.
As a participant in the University of Chicago’s SuperAging Research Initiative — an international, multicenter study designed to better understand the factors tied to longevity — Smith and her vibrant life offer more than inspiration. Her history, habits and health give clues to answering big questions that could unlock a brighter future for more older adults.
Among them: Why do some people maintain memory, independence and psychological well-being in their 80s, 90s and beyond? In what ways do genetic, biological and lifestyle factors shape health? Which simple changes — a slightly faster walking pace, for instance, or staying socially connected — benefit independence? And how can healthcare systems better support older adults beyond a clinical setting?
Some answers come from brain scans and blood biomarkers; others from microscopes or wearable sensors. The work, part of a broad and collaborative effort across multiple universities, has a shared purpose.
“We want to increase awareness and the scientific probability of positive trajectories of aging for all,” said SuperAging researcher Emily Rogalski, PhD, the Rosalind Franklin Professor of Neurology at UChicago.