Belmont Village Senior Living is proud to announce that UC San Diego Stein Institute’s Living Lab at Belmont Village La Jolla has been awarded the 2026 Argentum Best of the Best Award. Argentum, the leading national trade association serving companies that own, operate, and support professionally managed senior living communities, presents this prestigious accolade to innovative programs that advance excellence in senior living. The award was presented during the 2026 Hero Awards ceremony at Argentum’s annual Senior Living Executive Conference & Expo on May 19.
The Best of the Best award recognizes Belmont Village’s pioneering partnership with the UC San Diego Stein Institute for Research on Aging to bridge the gap between academic research and practical implementation by establishing the first-of-its-kind research lab within a functioning senior living community. Launched in 2023, the Living Lab at Belmont Village La Jolla enables researchers to design and test innovations in a real-world setting. This addresses a longstanding challenge in aging research, translating scientific discoveries into practical, scalable solutions that improve residents’ health, well-being, and quality of life.
“We believe senior living communities can serve as engines of innovation in aging,” said Patricia Will, Founder and CEO of Belmont Village Senior Living. “The Living Lab exemplifies how collaboration with academic partners can bring meaningful research directly to residents’ lives and impact the research, while advancing new approaches to healthy aging.”
At the core of the Living Lab is a purpose-built research studio located within Belmont Village La Jolla, designed to support on-site research including biosensor testing, technology development, physical and functional assessments, interviews, and behavioral interventions. Researchers also utilize shared spaces within the senior living community such as the gym, art studio, town hall, and social lounges, allowing studies to integrate naturally into residents’ daily lives.
“The Living Lab was designed to bring research out of the abstract and into everyday life,” said Danielle Glorioso, Executive Director of the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging and the Stein Institute for Research on Aging. “By partnering directly with residents, we’re able to test and refine innovations in real time, ensuring they are not only scientifically sound, but truly meaningful and applicable to how people live, age, and thrive.”
Since its launch, the Living Lab has supported multiple research initiatives including a meditation intervention study, falls prevention research, blood pressure monitoring using a mobile health application, an intergenerational study, and testing of an ambient sensing device.
For more information about Belmont Village Senior Living, visit https://www.belmontvillage.com/
About Belmont Village
Founded in Houston in 1997, Belmont Village is an integrated developer, owner, and operator of high-quality senior living communities, with more than 4,700 employees and 5,000 units in total. Its 35 locations across the country and in Mexico City, provide award-winning assisted living and memory care programs and ongoing collaborations with Baptist Health South Florida, USC, UCLA, and more to continually improve their cognitive health and evidence-based enrichment programs. The company is a market leader in major markets including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, South Florida, San Diego, and Chicago. Renowned for distinctive design, high standards of life and safety, and reputation for leading edge, quality programming, Belmont Village is certified as a Great Place to Work®, has been ranked as one of FORTUNE Magazine’s 50 Best Workplaces for Aging Services since 2018, and has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as Best in Senior Living. www.belmontvillage.com. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
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