Senior Research Career Scientist

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Abstract: The Veteran population is skewed in terms of age, with more than 55% of Veterans already over 65 years of age. Older individuals with deficits in muscle size, strength and power can become mobility-limited to a degree that simply walking to the mailbox is at the upper limit of their physical capacity. An age-associated vascular dysfunction leading to muscle de-conditioning, particularly in the lower extremities, has been described as a “vicious loop” as inactivity and muscle atrophy result in weakness and low power production which leads to reduced mobility and an even greater restriction of activity leading to even more pronounced vascular and muscle deterioration. The central goal of Dr. Richardson’s research is to attenuate the process of vascular aging such that fatigue resistance and impaired mobility are achieved and vascular aging continues to be attenuated. Thus, Dr. Richardson’s work has significant implications for the VA and rehabilitative medicine. Due to Dr. Richardson’s research interests, related to the vascular and metabolic changes associated with the aging process, he was recruited from the Division of Physiology, at the University of California, San Diego, in 2007 to the University of Utah, Division of Geriatrics, and the Salt Lake City Geriatrics, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), as a Professor and Associate Director for Research, respectively. In 2015 Dr. Richardson received a VA Rehabilitation Research Service, Senior Research Career Scientist (SRCS) Award and the current application represents his request to renew this award. Since, receiving the SRCS Award, in 2015, Dr. Richardson has published over 110 papers disseminating his research in good peer reviewed journals. Dr. Richardson has worked on a wide variety of integrative physiologic studies for almost 30 years, and, as of now, he has published almost 300 papers, has an h-index of 69, and his work has been cited well over 16,000 times. In recognition of Dr. Richardson’s contributions to the field, in 2018, he was Awarded an Honorary Doctorate, in Biological Sciences, from his alma mater, Brunel University in London England. Currently, he is the PI of two VA RR&D Merit Awards, one focusing on the role of the vasculature in Alzheimer’s Disease and the other developing a promising, clinically relevant, assessment of vascular health. He is the Co-I on another RR&D funded Merit and a CSR&D funded Merit as well as two NIH funded R01s. Additionally, Dr. Richardson has successfully mentored well over 40 people at the Graduate, Post-Doctoral, and Faculty levels, as evidenced by the fact that he is currently the PI of NIH T32 Institutional Training Grant entitled Cardiovasomobility (and a mentor on two other T32s, Cardiology and Pulmonary), a Co-I of an American Heart Association Institutional Training Grant, and is just embarking on the mentorship of his third VA CDA2 recipient. Dr. Richardson is now in his 14th year as full time VA scientist and is keen to carry on his work for the VA and the RR&D Service with continued support through the SRCS Award mechanism.