Midcareer Investigator Award in Geriatric Depression

描述（由申请人提供）：这是K24面向患者研究职业奖的竞争性更新申请。候选人David Steffens博士是杜克大学医学中心精神病学和医学教授，在那里他担任老年精神病学部门的负责人和nimh赞助的T32研究培训计划的主任。Steffens博士在老年抑郁症领域建立了奖学金记录，他是nimh资助的两项大型资助的首席研究员，一项关注纵向老年抑郁症结果的R01研究，以及一项研究老年抑郁症脑血管疾病的Conte神经科学中心招募核心研究。他曾获得临床老年心理健康学术奖（K07）。Steffens博士指导过各个层次的个人，包括本科生、研究生、医学院学生、博士后和博士后研究员、精神病学住院医生、老年精神病学研究员和初级教师。这些经历使候选人完全有资格获得K24奖。通过该奖项，他将扩大研究范围，专注于晚年抑郁症中叶酸代谢相关基因的研究。利用其资助的研究作为教学资源，候选人将很好地指导博士前和博士后研究员以及初级教师。在该奖项下，候选人将花费至少50%的时间进行以患者为导向的研究和指导。公共卫生相关性：缺乏对老年心理健康研究感兴趣的训练有素的初级调查员。随着人口老龄化，更好地了解美国老年人的精神疾病是至关重要的。支持像Steffens博士这样有兴趣并有能力培训下一代老年心理健康研究人员的个人，将有助于解决一项重要且日益增长的公共卫生需求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a competing renewal application for a K24 Career Award in Patient-Oriented Research. The candidate, Dr. David Steffens, is Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, where he serves as the Head of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Director of an NIMH-sponsored T32 Research Training Program. Dr. Steffens has established a record of scholarship in the area of geriatric depression, and he serves as Principal Investigator on two large NIMH-funded grants, an R01 focusing on longitudinal geriatric depression outcomes and on the Recruitment Core of a Conte Neuroscience Center studying cerebrovascular disease in late-life depression. He is the previous recipient of a Clinical Geriatric Mental Health Academic Award (K07). Dr. Steffens has mentored individuals at all levels, including undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, pre- and post-doctoral research fellows, psychiatry residents, geriatric psychiatry fellows, and junior faculty. These experiences make the candidate well qualified for this K24 Award. Through this Award, the candidate will expand his research by focusing on genes related to folate metabolism in late life depression. Using his funded research as a source for teaching, the candidate will be well positioned to mentor pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellows as well as junior faculty. Under the Award, the candidate will spend at least 50% of his time conducting patient-oriented research and mentoring. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: There is a lack of well-trained junior investigators interested in late-life mental health research. With the aging of the population, better understanding of mental illness in older Americans is essential. Support of individuals such as Dr. Steffens who have an interest and ability to train the next generation of geriatric mental health researchers will help address an important and growing public health need.