Data Acquisition and Analysis Core (DAAC)

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Data Acquisition and Analysis Core (DAAC) is a key and integral component of the UCLA OAIC, providing expert data acquisition and analysis support to OAIC pilot projects, to investigators selected by the OAIC Research Education Component (REC) for career development awards and research project support, and to externally-funded projects (EP). This resource core is designed to serve as a single, coordinated, central resource for major aspects of the design and implementation of research projects involving human subjects, with particular attention to supporting the development of junior investigators through support for their projects. DAAC specific aims are to 1) support data acquisition (recruitment of older adults, biological sample collection and processing, secure data management); 2) support data analysis (sample size and power calculations, statistical analysis, facilitate junior investigator access to archived large datasets); 3) mentor junior investigators (provide expert consulting on research methods from project planning phase onwards, with continued oversight and feedback during the research, and conduct tutorial workshops as part of the REC's Research Education Program), and 4) support EPs that address the OAIC theme of Inflammation, Aging, and Independence. Nine OAIC-funded projects will be supported in year 1; eight of the nine are led by junior researchers who will also get ongoing mentoring. Four EPs will be supported in year 1: one cohort study to address relationships between age trajectories of inflammation and disease risk, one biomarker measurement standardization study that will make possible cross-nation comparisons of inflammatory markers, one randomized trial of stroke prevention in minority communities, which will determine the role of inflammation in stroke disparities, and one cross-sectional study of T cell immunosenescence – led by a junior investigator – that will examine the role of immunosenescence in the vulnerability of older transplant recipients. Each of these EPs addresses one or more components of the OAIC conceptual model of inflammation, aging, disease, and independence. DAAC strengths include its established links to under-represented communities of older adults, experience developing protocols for home-based bio-specimen collection, data management resources such as PIWeb and REDcap, support for complex analytic techniques, and commitment to and strong track record in mentoring junior investigators.