Biography

Dr. Angie Sardina has nearly 20 years of experience working in gerontological/geriatric settings as a clinician and researcher. Dr. Sardina graduated with her bachelor's degree in health sciences and Recreation Therapy from Florida Gulf Coast University and subsequently earned a master's degree in Parks and Recreation Management, with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Dr. Sardina worked in a continuing care retirement community and in private care providing non-pharmacological recreational therapy services for persons with and without Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), and other neurocognitive and physical conditions. Dr. Sardina went on to complete her doctorate in Aging Studies at the University of South Florida, where she focused on physical and cognitive health disparities experienced with age. Prior to her current position, Dr. Sardina was an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the Recreation Therapy Department. 

Currently, Dr. Sardina is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology within the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences at Clemson University. Dr. Sardina joined the Department of Psychology in August of 2024, in which her primary affiliation is with the Institute for Engaged Aging. As an early-stage investigator, Dr. Sardina's research focus is on preventive approaches (e.g., leisure, sleep health, and pain management) to promote cognitive health and function in older adults with/out ADRD. Indeed, her research to date is centered on understanding physical (e.g., pain, sleep), psychosocial (e.g., loneliness, depressive symptomology, and leisure), and contextual mechanisms (e.g., housing usability and the built environment) that support/constrain health and psychological well-being with age. Dr. Sardina currently serves as the Associate Director of the South Carolina Alzheimer's Disease and Research Center's (SC-ADRC) Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core.