Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (OAICs)(P30)

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Abstract In this competitive renewal application, the University of Michigan Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (UM Pepper Center), established in 1989, seeks to provide scientific leadership and innovation for aging research to address the central hypothesis that targeting metabolic and inflammatory factors as critical mediators of geriatric conditions and outcomes improves physical and cognitive functions of older adults. The overarching goal of the UM Pepper Center is to create, enhance and maintain a cohesive intellectual, technological, and administrative environment to maximize geriatrics research that will promote health and functional independence in older adults. The UM Pepper Center will pursue its objectives in five Aims. Aim 1) To support research that addresses the Center’s focus to improve understanding of how metabolic factors and inflammation determine key health outcomes related to mobility and functional status. Aim 2) To support translational research on the interaction of metabolic factors and inflammation with age-related diseases and comorbidities to improve health outcomes related to mobility and functional status. To achieve the aim, the UM Pepper Center will work closely with other UM programs including the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), the home of the UM’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Aim 3) To provide Resource Cores that support and assist investigator-initiated projects related to the UM Pepper Center’s research focus. Aim 4) Through its Research Education Core (REC), to strengthen the UM environment for training of future academic leaders in geriatrics and aging who can conduct research related to the UM Pepper Center’s research focus. Aim 5) Through its Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (PESC), to attract UM faculty to develop new research projects related to the UM Pepper Center’s research focus. The UM Pepper Center has in place a well-established leadership and administrative structure, a REC, a PESC, and four RCs: the Human Subjects and Assessment Core (HSAC); the Biomechanics Core (BC); the Design, Data and Biostatistics Core (DDBC); and the Core Facility for Aged Rodents (CFAR). The REC features three central elements: 1) a competitive program to select 2 promising UM junior faculty per year to conduct research relevant to the UM Pepper Center’s research and guarantee 50% effort for research career development; 2) a nationally recognized research training program for junior faculty engaged in such research, and 3) a Mentorship Program that enhances opportunities for junior faculty members to work closely with one or more UM senior investigators. The PESC will fund 5 or more pilot projects per year by leveraging OAIC funding with multiple other UM institutional resources. The RC’s will support multiple externally funded projects, the Pepper Center pilot grants and REC junior faculty, and continue to develop and test new methods to be used in Pepper Center research.