Mid Career Mentoring Award In Patient-Oriented Research

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请建议将NIA中期职业奖用于面向患者的研究，为康奈尔大学威尔医学院由马克·拉克斯博士领导的有抱负的老年研究人员创建和维持一个指导计划。Lachs博士是一名老年病专家和临床流行病学家，在老年人虐待、保护服务和功能状态领域拥有专业知识。他也是康奈尔大学老龄化研究和临床护理中心（CCARCC）的主任，该中心是由NIA学术领导奖资助的机构，并于2000年由院长正式成立。CCARCC的基础设施将协助确定受指导的学员，为他们提供额外的资源（例如，通过其试点资助计划），并通过由William Hazzard博士领导的外部咨询委员会正式评估Lachs博士的K24计划。在老年人自我忽视（ESN）领域提出了两个新的以患者为导向的研究项目。这些研究的具体目的是：(1)估计执行功能障碍对可能先于ESN的自我保健行为的贡献；(2)确定饮酒是否是ESN的一个危险因素。这些研究假设，回声状态网络是一个逐渐变得更严重的低自我照顾状态的连续体。ESN之所以被选为内容领域，是因为(a)它是一种多因素综合征，可能会吸引来自不同领域（例如，老年医学和精神病学、神经心理学、营养学、酒精和医学伦理学）的学员，(b)它很普遍，但尽管存在大量死亡率和侮辱，但仍在研究。(c)康奈尔大学在老年精神病学方面拥有非同寻常的专业知识（和潜在的学员），其形式是由乔治·亚历克索普洛斯领导的康奈尔老年精神病学研究所。提供了抑郁症和回声状态网络的初步数据。候选人的优势包括他作为耶鲁大学RWJ临床学者在研究方法方面的正式培训，他的学术生产力和持续的NIH资助的历史，包括在老年人犯罪和健康领域的活跃RO1，以及早期指导各级初级学员的记录。该机构的优势包括CCARCC的资源，康奈尔大学的几个与老龄化相关的中心，可以从中获得潜在的学员，在奖学金和初始外部资金之间的关键时期，部门资源的可用性可以“保护”有前途的学员，如果申请成功，部门联合主任结构可以使候选人免受不必要的行政和临床负担。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes use of the NIA mid-career award in patient-oriented research to create and sustain a mentoring program for aspiring aging researchers at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University led by Dr. Mark Lachs. Dr. Lachs is a geriatrician and clinical epidemiologist with expertise in the areas of elder mistreatment, protective services, and functional status. He is also Directs the Cornell Center for Aging Research and Clinical Care (CCARCC), an institution wide entity seeded by an NIA Academic Leadership Award and formalized by the Dean in 2000. CCARCC's infrastructure will assist in identifying mentored trainees, provide additional resources to them (e.g., through its pilot grant program), and formally evaluate Dr. Lachs' K24 program through an external advisory committee led by Dr. William Hazzard. Two new patient-oriented research projects are proposed in the area of elder self-neglect (ESN). The specific aims of these are: (1) to estimate the contribution of executive dysfunction to self-care behaviors that may precede ESN, and (2) to determine if alcohol consumption is an risk factor for ESN. These studies hypothesize that ESN is a continuum of progressively more egregious low self-care states. ESN as chosen as a content area because (a) it is a multi-factorial syndrome likely to attract trainees with interests from diverse fields (e.g., geriatric medicine and psychiatry, neuropsychology, nutrition, alcohol, and medicalethics), (b) it is prevalent but studied despite substantial mortality and indignity, and (c) Cornell has an unusual depth of expertise (and potential mentees) in geriatric psychiatry in the form of the Cornell Geriatric Psychiatry Institute headed by George Alexopoulos. Preliminary data on depression and ESN are provided. Strengths of the candidate include his formal training in research methodology as an RWJ Clinical Scholar at Yale, his history of academic productivity and continuous NIH funding including an active RO1 in the area of crime and health in older people, and an early track record of mentoring junior trainees at all levels. Strengths of the institution include the resources of CCARCC, several aging related Centers at Cornell from which to garner potential mentees, the availability of divisional resources to "protect" promising trainees in the critical period between fellowship and initial extramural funding, and a divisional co-chief structure that can insulate the candidate from undue administrative and clinical burdens should this application be successful.