Welcome to our May 2023 issue. Here in St. Louis, spring has definitely sprung! Wherever you are, we hope you are keeping well.
Dr. SiNing Zhao, Regional Medical Director – Asia, in her first appearance in ReFlections, contributes the first of a well-researched, two-part article on autism. Part I, which you will find beginning on Page 2, focuses on an update of autism from a clinical point of view – an understanding of which is increasingly important for insurance medical and risk assessment professionals.
Peter Hovard, Ph.D., Lead Behavioral Scientist, also new to ReFlections, has contributed an article detailing RGA’s research into how questionnaires in insurance applications can improve disclosure of smoking and alcohol consumption behaviors using the theories and tools of behavioral science. The issue is rounded out with an article by ReFlections editor
Dr. Daniel Zimmerman, DBIM, Chief Science Advisor, who reviews the current status of research into the underlying
mechanisms of aging and the potential implications for future morbidity and mortality trends.
We are saddened to report that Dr. William A. Peck, a cofounder of the Longer Life Foundation, RGA’s research
collaboration with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, recently passed away. The LLF page in this issue
honors his long and productive life.
In this Issue