Topics ranging from Alzheimer's disease to chronic pain will be discussed at the two-day Northern California Gerontology and Geriatrics Research Conference beginning 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 15, at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center at UC Davis. Sponsored by the UC Davis Geriatrics and Gerontology Working Group and the School of Medicine's Center for Aging and Health, the event provides a forum for researchers to present their work, network and initiate collaborative research. Other topics include stress and coping in older men, personality and problem drinking, impact of AIDS and dementia on caregivers, effect of aging on conversation, survival curves and ethnicity and smoking and health.