Boston OAIC: A Translational Approach to Function Promoting Therapies

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Project Summary The objective of this Diversity Supplement is to support the research training and career development of Dr. Rodrigo Valderrábano, an outstanding minority physician scientist. This Diversity Supplement is linked to the Research Education Core of the Boston Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC), an NIA-funded P30 grant (P30AG013679; PI: Shalender Bhasin), whose primary aim is to train future independent research scientists who have the knowledge and skills to translate fundamental mechanisms of disease and disability during the aging process into novel interventions that can improve the health, physical function, and well-being of people as they age. The Boston OAIC grant was recently renewed for a period of 5 years which is sufficient to support the requested 2 years of research proposed in the supplement. The mentored research project also is thematically linked to OAIC's focus on function promoting therapies, mechanisms of aging and geroscience targets, and the role of the sirtuin-NAD pathway in aging and innate immune response. The Diversity Supplement has two closely linked components: Supplement Aim 1: A 2-year intensive mentored research training under the supervision of Dr. Shalender Bhasin in the context of an observational study of the role of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in modulating the innate immune response and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its relation to the development of the post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), also known as chronic COVID syndrome. Supplement Aim 2: A structured, individually-tailored, didactic training well integrated with the training program of the Boston Pepper Center's Research Education Core. Dr. Valderrábano will work with his mentor in developing an individualized training plan (IDP) as outlined in the proposal. This plan will be reviewed and approved by the REC Director, Dr. Lewis Lipsitz. The IDP includes the following categories: 1) Career and Learning Goals, 2) Responsible Conduct of Research Training, 3) Coursework, 4) Scientific Meetings and Conferences, 5) Professional Development, 6) Papers and Abstracts, and 7) Grant application/s. Didactic training includes participating in Boston OACI's educational activities for REC awardees, Advanced Aging Research Seminar Series (AARTSS), structured activities to develop manuscript and grant writing skills, coursework in ‘OMICS Principles, and Statistical Analysis and Interpretation. He also will attend the regular research conferences of the OAIC, Men's Health program, and the Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging. The proposed research training and career development will facilitate Dr. Valderrábano's advancement towards an independent research career in aging.