Joseph Coughlin, PhD
Director, AgeLab MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
- Cambridge MA
Dr. Coughlin's work explores how global demographics, technology and changing behaviors are transforming business & society.
MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics
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Media
Social
Biography
Research Focus
Human-Centered Systems & Quality of Life
Designing systems, services, and policies that enhance human well-being across work, home, and society.
Future Logistics & Infrastructure Systems
Shaping freight, mobility, and infrastructure systems that enable global supply networks.
Areas of Expertise
Links
Education
Boston University
PhD
1995
Brown University
AM
1985
State University of New York at Oswego
BA
1982
Languages
- English
- French
Media Appearances
Why Longevity Is Creating A Complexity Economy
Forbes online
2026-06-09
How longer lives are reshaping retirement planning, wealth management, healthcare, and banking by creating a new Complexity Economy.
Buying Longevity: The New Run Rate Of Living And Living In Retirement
Forbes online
2026-01-06
From CES to retail shelves, technology to extend longevity and healthspan is becoming a new run-rate cost of living and living in...
AI Is Reimagining Retirement, But Who’s Plugging It In?
Forbes online
2025-07-21
AI is transforming retirement, but older adults and caregivers need help connecting smart tech to daily life. The next big thing?
2019 Innovator: Joseph Coughlin
InvestmentNews online
2019-02-04
“We are working on getting the financial services industry to be a catalyst for change on how we think about longevity,” said Joseph F. Coughlin, founder and director of the MIT AgeLab, which researches trends related to aging and helps organizations develop innovations in what he has dubbed the “longevity economy.”
Speaking Engagements/Featured Conversations
New stories for longer lives | Dr. Joseph F. Coughlin | TEDxAthens Salon
Longevity is rewriting every chapter of the human story, yet we’re still living by an old script. It’s time to lay the infrastructure of a new longevity society—with stories that inspire and guide us, systems of education, work, and markets that adapt to longer lives, and physical spaces and places that engage and connect us at every age. Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD, is the founding director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. A researcher, teacher, and advisor, his work explores how global demographics, technology, and evolving social trends are transforming business and society. Dr. Coughlin teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning and frequently speaks to Fortune 500 boardrooms as well as to convention halls around the world, delivering his unique style of insight and humor. Watch the full TEDx Athens talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFgBI3Dnoj8
Research Papers
A Mixed Methods Investigation Examining COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making Among Older Vaccinators and Non-Vaccinators in the Southeastern US
Journal of General Internal MedicineTaylor Patskanick Brennan, Sophia Ashebir, Alexa Balmuth, Lisa D’Ambrosio, Joseph F Coughlin
2026-06-01
Prior research has explored factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine decision-making among older adults at the national level, but limited work has focused on this population within the Southeastern US context or compared vaccinated and unvaccinated older adults within the same study.
A Randomized Trial Using PARO with Minimal Caregiver Involvement on Older Adults with Dementia in Group Homes
Alzheimer's & DementiaKaoru Inoue, Mitsunobu Kono, Ryuji Kobayashi, Chiyomi Yatsu, Daryl Patrick Gamboa Yao, Takanori Shibata, Joseph F Coughlin, Masahiro Shigeta
2026-02-01
PARO, a baby seal robot, has shown promise in addressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in clinical settings. However, little is known about PARO's benefits when used independently of health professionals. This study examined that scenario in older adults with dementia.
Managing Longevity Risks: Consumer Attitudes Toward and Experiences With Financial Products
Innovation in Aging2025-12-01
Financial products such as annuities, life insurance, and disability insurance are positioned to play a key role in future planning, including retirement, by providing financial security; hedging against different kinds of financial risks, including illness, injury, or death; and maintaining a steady income stream throughout older age. A national online survey of employed American adults ages 25 to 67, with medium to high income or investable assets, explored consumers’ sense of preparedness for their financial futures and lives in older age. Items included people’s overall financial well-being; attitudes toward and usage of various financial products; attitudes toward different longevity risks; and expectations for retirement.
