Eric Chess joined the University of Denver’s Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging in 2017. He is a physician and lawyer with a focus on prevention and wellness and has over a decade of experience as both a hospitalist and a primary care physician in internal medicine. Prior to his medical work, he was an attorney and economic consultant.

In his role at the University, Chess has launched and directed the Financial Security and Cognitive Health Initiative, a multidisciplinary research and education program involving business, law, neuroscience, neuropsychology, social work, computer science and engineering. Additionally, he has been developing innovative programs and coursework on evidence-based prevention, health and wellness.

Chess earned a JD from New York Law School, a degree in pre-medicine/pre-medical studies from Columbia University and an MD from the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn. He completed the internal medicine residency program at Hofstra University.

Melissa Archpru Akaka is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Denver. Her research investigates the co-creation of value in consumer cultures and consumption experiences as well as collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship in dynamic service ecosystems. Dr. Akaka’s scholarly work has been published in a variety of academic journals, including Journal of Service Research, Journal of International Marketing and Industrial Marketing Management. Her work was recently recognized for being “highly cited” (in the top 1%) by Thomson Reuters.

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