Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies

Mulberry tree with supports

Centre for ageing and
biographical studies (CABS)

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Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies

The CABS icon draws on our current photograph of a majestic ancient tree that functions well, bearing leaves and fruit, even though its large and heavy branches need some support. This symbolises that although some older people are frail, many older people are able to live independently and for others a bit of help and support is all they need to live independently and feel part of their community and wider society. The sapling represents the intergenerational nature of a well-rounded society, where older people can share their knowledge and lived experiences with younger people and younger people can help and inform them about the newer aspects of society such as smart phones and tablet computers.

Who we are

The Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies (CABS) focuses on ageing across the lifecourse with a particular emphasis on later life. Established in 1995, it was a pioneering interdisciplinary centre at a time of great interest in ageing societies and continues to research and debate contemporary issues in ageing of relevance to academics, practitioners, policy makers and to the broader society. Our members are affiliated to the British Society of Gerontology, the Royal College of Nursing and CABS is part of UKAgeNet, an academic network to raise the profile of ageing research and translation in government and society.

What we do

CABS Members research across a range of interdisciplinary topics with expertise in the following areas: age-friendly cities and universities; ageing well; empowering older people and their families through biographical and co-created/coproduced methods; different environments of ageing; digital literacy across the lifecourse; ethnic inequalities in health and housing; historical representations of older women in society; lived experiences; sexuality in later life; and use of technologies, including assistive living technologies by older people, carers, families and health professionals.

CABS members also work with a range of charitable and voluntary sector organisations, including, Age UK, Opening Doors, Bangla Housing Association, Housing LIN to address issues facing ageing societies/older populations. We run an annual public seminar series to debate contemporary ideas about ageing well and with a broad range of publics. Our research contributes to BA in health and social care, free courses on Open Learn and Open Learn Create, an award-winning world-renowned OU platform. The group supports the continuation of ageing research and teaching through postgraduate students and early career researchers.

New members

As an academic, practitioner or an older person, if you have an interest in ageing, and would like to contribute to debates and research in this area and wish to be an external member of CABS please contact us