Bio

Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA, (he/they) is a Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK). He holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (UNCG), a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, a certificate in Advanced Clinical Dementia Practice from the University of Michigan, and a certificate in Inclusive Teaching from UTK. Joel completed an NIH-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in the conduct of clinical research at the Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies at the University of Virginia (UVA). He is an Honorary Associate Professor at the Centre for Age-Related Medicine in Stavanger, Norway.

Joel’s research program focuses on supporting caregivers of people living with dementia. This focus includes exploration of the psychosocial impacts of caregiving to develop strategies to alleviate caregiver strain and improve quality of life. He currently leads several studies to examine quality of life in dementia caregiving, including the use of digital health resources and the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ caregivers and older adults. Joel has received funding from the National Institute on Aging, the RRF Foundation for Aging, the Pat Summitt Foundation, and the British Academy. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles in numerous academic journals, including The Gerontologist, the Journal of Aging and Health, and Brain Research. Joel is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Family Nursing and Research in Gerontological Nursing. He chairs the Gerontology Research and Scholarship Group and is a member of the Scholars Collective on Mortality at the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts at UTK.

Joel is an elected fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. In 2021, he received the Innovative Contribution to Family Nursing Award from the International Family Nursing Association and in 2020 received the UTK College of Nursing Allison and Patrick Harrison Nursing Innovation Award. Most recently, he received the 2025 Sands Family Faculty Endowment from the UTK College of Nursing. Joel is co-convener of the International Dementia Scholars Collaborative and former co-chair of the Communications Committee of the International Family Nursing Association. He has served as a peer reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the Dementia Australia Research Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Singapore Ministry of Health. He is past president of Healing Beyond Borders, an international integrative health organization. Joel currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Carolina Aging Alliance and the Advisory Committee for the Aging Rainbow Coalition.

For over two decades, Joel has been actively involved in efforts to support multicultural diversity, equity, and inclusion. He was a founding member of the Gay-Straight Alliance at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and a member of the Inclusive Community Initiative Task Force of the Faculty Senate at UNCG. While at UVA, Joel was a member of the School of Nursing Diversity Committee and the UVA Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Planning Committee. In 2016, Joel received the UVA Health System Martin Luther King, Jr. Award in recognition of his work related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Joel served as a member of the UTK Faculty Senate from 2018 to 2021, including co-chairing the Faculty Senate Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He previously served on the UTK Scholarship Diversity Analysis Committee, the UTK Taskforce on Naming, the UTK Strategic Visioning Executive Committee, the College of Nursing Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, and as co-chair of the UTK Chancellor’s Commission for LGBTQ People. In 2023, Joel received the UTK LGBTQ Advocate Award in recognition of his contributions in promoting an inclusive campus environment. Dedicated to inclusive teaching, Joel received the 2022 Open Education Resource Trailblazer Award from the UTK University Libraries and Student Government Association and the Outstanding PhD Faculty Award from the UTK College of Nursing in 2020 and 2023.