Einstein's Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in Basic Biology of Aging

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The Research Development Core of the Einstein-Nathan Shock Center (E-NSC) has leveraged resources to fund 26 pilot and feasibility (P&F) studies, most of which were granted to junior investigators or established investigators pursuing novel research directions in the biology of aging or investigators who are new to aging. Of these, more than 50% of awardees demonstrated clear outcomes of success indicated by the acquisition of funds and/or submission of manuscripts and new grant applications. Given this success, we intend to continue with our objective to maintain P&F funding as part of the RDC deliverables. These P&F studies are designed to and will continue to enhance and support E-NSC science at Einstein and at member institutions. The P&F funds will be preferentially distributed to meritorious junior or ‘new to aging’ investigators. A second major objective of the E-NSC has been to identify new faculty who have the potential to transition to aging research and to provide continuous mentoring to them through multiple portals including the grant application process. To that end, we have had much success in that we have attracted and advised junior researchers who have applied for and successfully obtained funding from the NIH/NIA. Additionally, several newly recruited faculty to Einstein have shifted their primary focus to the basic biology of aging. We will continue to draw on established senior investigators at Einstein to mentor and support researchers in their preparation of P&F applications and new P&F awardees. The third objective of the RDC will be to communicate its important opportunities and available resources, which includes P&Fs, core services and mentoring to trainees and established investigators. This will occur through various platforms such as the Biology of Aging course, via invited talks and seminars, and through interactive community events such as the Einstein Hackathon and the annual E-NSC mini-retreats. We believe that RDC activities strengthen the E-NSC community active in aging research, attract new investigators to aging- related research, and successfully promote new research endeavors in aging-related areas. Aging is considered a key priority for the leadership at Einstein as shown by the Institutional commitment to match budgeted P&F funds, yielding up to $300,000 annually in total available funds for P&F grants. This will permit the funding of at least 7-12 P&F projects in any given year. Consequently, in the next funding period, we will continue to drive the programs that have been successful and introduce new programs with the primary objective of raising awareness about the omnipresence of the aging process in all aspects of biology.