Preventing Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance in the Aging Population: Translational Research and Training Program

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ABSTRACT Frail older adults in institutional settings such as hospitals and nursing homes (NHs) are at a particularly high risk of poor outcomes. Translation of research findings into clinical practice, particularly in NHs, is challenging. Educating and training a multidisciplinary group of junior investigators is key to designing evidence-based, randomized studies to test innovative models and practices that reduce infections and antimicrobial resistance in NH settings. In order to continue her well-established translational research, Dr. Lona Mody, Amanda Sanford Hickey Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, is submitting this K24 renewal proposal. Dr. Mody’s career objective is to develop a nationally and internationally recognized program in infection prevention among susceptible populations. She will achieve this objective by conducting patient-oriented research that improves outcomes from infectious diseases and reduces transmission of bacterial and viral infections in a vulnerable older population and by educating and training a multidisciplinary group of mentees. The majority of her professional life has been dedicated to the conduct of patient-oriented research. During the past 5 years, she has published 90 papers, including six articles pertaining to career development and work-life balance. Fifty-three were as first or senior author (59% of 90) and 59 publications were mentor/mentee collaborations (66% of 90). Several of her mentees have received career development awards including GEMSSTAR, K awards and institutional career development grants leading to independent academic careers and tenure track positions. She has established a steady stream of research funding and effective mentorship, with continued collaboration throughout the course of mentees’ careers. Dr. Mody’s research brings together expertise in geriatrics and aging research, microbiology and infectious diseases, epidemiology, outcomes research, nursing, and others. Her work on reducing infections and antimicrobial resistance in vulnerable populations grows out of work originally funded by the NIA, AHRQ, CDC, T. Franklin Williams Scholarship (now known as GEMSSTAR), and the Hartford Foundation. Several currently funded grants will serve as the platform for this grant proposal, including ongoing work funded by NIH, AHRQ, VA, and the Kahn Foundation. These studies will yield rich datasets and banked microbes that will be utilized to educate and train mentees in patient-oriented research with extensions to molecular epidemiology and community-based participatory research. Resources supporting the education, training, and development include the University of Michigan Medical School, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, UM Department of Medicine, UM Department of Surgery, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR, UM-CTSA), UM OAIC Pepper Center, and the UM School of Public Health.