HARVARD OLDER AMERICANS INDEPENDENCE CENTER

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This competitive application seeks support for the continuation of a highly successful Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at Harvard Medical School's Division on Aging and its affiliated institutions. The primary goal of the Center continues to be to develop junior geriatricians into academic leaders with effective research, teaching, and clinical capabilities within a traditionally excellent research environment. This joint effort involving investigators in basic and clinical departments has been actively developing interventional strategies to promote independence in older Americans, a high priority objective of Healthy People 2000. It has also excelled in identifying and training outstanding clinicians for research. Careers in areas central to the mission of the National Institute on Aging. The Intervention Study (S) proposes to address problems associated with medication utilization in the elderly. The Intervention Development Study (IDS) aims to improve treatment efficacy for urinary incontinence. Two research resource cores (RRCs) are proposed for the enhancement of the intervention Study, the Intervention Development Study, support of ongoing research, and the development of new projects, especially those of junior faculty. The research cores are: RRC A: Subject recruitment; and RRC B: Basic Science and Engineering. A Research Development Core (RDC) will provide educational and career development opportunities for junior faculty and research associates. Fifteen experienced, well-funded faculty scientists, many of whom are established geriatrician investigators, will serve as potential mentors for junior faculty in seven areas: (1) geriatric medicine, (2) public health epidemiology, (3) cardiovascular renal, (4) endocrinology/metabolism, (5) neurosciences, (6) genetics cell/molecular biology, and (7) biomedical engineering physics. A Demonstration and Information Dissemination Project (DIDP) will provide information regarding improved treatment measures and disseminate the results of the intervention research to patients, care providers, academic faculty, and the public at large. The aim of the proposed Leadership/Administrative Core is to continue to maintain an environment that nurtures innovative, socially responsive, multidisciplinary research and training that will result in gr eater independence for older Americans. Ultimately we aim to develop more specific, more effective treatment that will improve and lengthen independence while at the same time decrease health care costs for our older Americans. We also aim to continue to develop junior faculty into independent scientific investigators who can apply basic research findings to clinical geriatric problems. This can best be accomplished within an Older Americans Independence Center.