Dr. Gutman developed and directed both the Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre and the Gerontology Department (formerly called the Gerontology Program) from 1982 - 2005. Currently, she is Professor Emerita in the Gerontology Department, a Research Associate in the Gerontology Research Centre and a Co-leader of the BC Network for Aging Research.

She is widely known in the field of gerontology as an educator, researcher, and consultant. She is the author/editor of twenty books, over one hundred and eighty scholarly articles, reports, and chapters, as well as over three hundred and sixty conference papers. In 2007, she was awarded the Order of British Columbia in recognition of her pioneering work in the field of Gerontology.

She has been a consultant to the Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing in B.C., the Continuing Care Division of the B.C. Ministry of Health and to Health Canada. She has served on a number of federal-provincial task forces, including one that established guidelines for comprehensive services for the psychiatrically impaired elderly, and one which developed design guidelines for housing and care facilities for the elderly.

Dr. Gutman’ s research interests are wide-ranging; including seniors’ housing, long term care, health promotion, dementia care, environmental design and seniors and emergency preparedness. She is currently conducting a series of studies in Canada and the United States as well as in the Dr. Tong Louie Living Laboratory designed to make acute care hospitals more elder-friendly.

Dr. Gutman has been very active in scholarly and community organizations. She was the Founding President of the Gerontology Association of British Columbia, served two terms as President of the Canadian Association on Gerontology (1987-1991), and was President of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, from 2001 to 2005. In her current position as Immediate Past President, she will serve on the IAGG Executive Committee until 2009.

She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a Director of the International Institute of Ageing - United Nations, Malta and a member of the World Health Organization’ s Expert Advisory Panel on Ageing and Health. Previously she served on the National Statistics Council which advises the chief Statistician of Canada, the Advisory Committee for the L’ Chaim Adult Day Care Centre, the Board of Directors of the Louis Briar Home and Hospital for the Aged, the Vancouver-Richmond Health Board’ s Research and Evaluation Advisory Committee, and from 1994-96 was Chair of the Board of Directors of the BC Institute Against Family Violence.

Selected Recent Publications

• Gutman, G.M. (2007) Creating a healthy environment for older populations. In M. Robinson (Ed.), Global health and global aging (pp. 281-291). New York: Josey-Bass.
• Gutman, G.M. (2007). International perspective on gerontology. In James E. Birren (Ed.) Encyclopedia of gerontology, 2nd ed. (pp. 770-777). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
• Gutman, G.M. (2007). IAGG’s role in graduate education in gerontology. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 27(3), 1-10.
• Gutman, G.M. (2007). Seniors and natural disasters: A synthesis of four Canadian case studies. In Workbook - Winnipeg International Workshop on Seniors and Emergency Preparedness (pp.23-59). Ottawa: Division of Aging and Seniors, Public Health Agency of Canada.
• Gutman, G.M. (2006). Avoiding the trap of apocalyptic demography. In Proceedings - Forum 2005 - The participation of seniors in the life of society. Fredericton, NB: New Brunswick Advisory Council on Seniors, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp 38-62.
• Gutman, G.M. (2006). Meeting the challenges of global aging: The need for a gerontological approach. In Conferences:Geriatrics 2006 International Congress of Elderly Health (pp.13-24). Istanbul, Turkey: Turkish Geriatrics Society, April 2-6.
• Low, G., & Gutman, G.M. (2006) Examining the role of gender in health-related quality of life: Perceptions of older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 32(11), 42-49.
• Wister, A.V., Gutman, G.M., Adams, R., & Chou, P.H. (2006). Fact book on aging in British Columbia, 4th Edition. Vancouver: Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre.
• McDonald-Miszczak, L., Neuport, S.D., & Gutman, G.M. (2005). Younger-old and older-old adults’ recall of medication instructions. Canadian Journal on Aging, 24(4), 409-418.
• McWilliam, C., Gutman, G.M., Penning, M., Mutch, B., Plouffe, L., Stewart, M., & Tamblyn, R. (2006). Nation-wide knowledge translation to promote research on seniors’ independence. In CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, (Eds.), Evidence in action, acting on evidence - a casebook of health services and policy research knowledge translation stories, (pp.75-78). Ottawa, Canada: CIHR.
• Gutman, G.M. (2005). Older woman abuse in the context of population aging: Issues, trends, traps and opportunities. In J. Hightower, M.J. Smith & H. Hightower (Eds.) Building bridges for prevention of older woman abuse: A forum for dialogue (pp. 22-32). Vancouver: BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses.
• Cooke, H.A., & Gutman, G.M. (2005). Improving the bathing experience for residents with dementia. Canadian Nursing Home, 16(2), 13-15.
• Gutman, G.M. (2003). Gerontechnology and the home environment. In N. Charness & W.K. Schaie (Eds.) Impact of technology on successful aging (pp.251-261). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
• Livadiotakis, G., Gutman, G.M., & Hollander, M.J. (2003). Rationing home care resources: How discharged seniors cope. Home Health Care Quarterly, 22(2), 31-42.
• Low, G., & Gutman, G. M. (2003) Couples ratings of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients’ quality of life. Clinical Nursing Research, 12(1), 28-48.
• Gutman, G.M., Clarke Scott, M.A., & Gnaedinger, N. (2001). Housing options for older Canadians: User satisfaction study. Part 1: Case studies; Part 2: Resident satisfaction survey results; Part 3: Appendices. Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
• Gutman, G.M., Stark, A., Donald, A., & Beattie, B.L. (2001). The contribution of self-reported health ratings to predicting frailty, institutionalization and death over a 5-year period. International Psychogeriatrics, 13(Suppl 1), 223-231.
• Gee, E.M., & Gutman, G.M. (Eds.) (2000). The overselling of population aging: Apocalyptic demography and intergenerational challenges. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
• Gutman, G.M. (1999). The role of the physical environment in the care of persons with Alzheimer’ s Disease. In M.T. Zlobicki & A. Kumarasuriyar (Eds.), 2000+ Quality Designs: Post-16th World Congress of Gerontology Proceedings (pp. 9-29). Brisbane, Australia: School of Architecture, Interior and Industrial Design, Queensland University of Technology.
• Gutman, G.M. (Ed.) (1998). Technology Innovation for an Aging Society: Blending Research, Public and Private Sectors. Vancouver: The Gerontology Research Center, Simon Fraser University.
• Wister, A.V., & Gutman, G.M. (Eds.) (1998). Health Systems and Aging in Selected Pacific Rim Countries: Cultural Diversity and Change. Vancouver: The Gerontology Research Center, Simon Fraser University.
• Wister, A.V., & Gutman, G.M. (1997). Housing older Canadians: Current patterns, preferences and policies. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 12(1/2), 19-35. Also published in L. Pastalan (1997) (Ed). Shelter and service issues for aging populations: International perspectives. Binghampton, N.Y.: Hayworth Press (pp. 19-35).