Mentoring Across Disciplines: Aging and Infectious Diseases with a Focus on Mobility

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PROJECT SUMMARY This K24 Mid-Career Mentoring Award supports my further career development and 50% protected time for mentoring and research. My patient-oriented research has bridged the intersection between HIV and geriatric medicine, through which I have developed a research program to describe the epidemiology and underlying mechanisms of HIV and aging, and introduced interventions focused on the successful aging of people with HIV (and other infectious diseases). Through the K24 award, I propose to take my research from the bench and the bedside into the clinic and community by gaining training in dissemination/implementation and community-based research principles (Training Aim 1) and health equity and inclusion in research, mentorship, and leadership (Training Aim 2). To provide hands-on training for these career development aims, I will focus on improving methods for measurement of muscle mass and quality in physical activity interventions (Aim 1). In Aim 2, I will work to improve methods for pragmatic and feasible interventions through a systematic review of existing interventions, input from key informants, and an environmental scan, with a focus on what is feasible and acceptable. We will conduct a systematic review and individual or group interviews, and used mixed methods to incorporate these findings with data from the parent R01, HEALTH. Lastly, I will use knowledge from Aims 1 and 2 to enhance existing physical activity programs for greater dissemination and implementation (Aim 3). I will be supported by mentors with expertise in dissemination/ implementation and health equity, in addition to three ongoing mentors with cross-disciplinary research programs, outstanding mentorship accolades, and leadership positions within their institutions. Lastly, my institution has provided me with the additional support, most critically in time protected from additional clinical or administrative duties. In summary, the proposed K24 will leverage my current R01 to serve as a training platform for trainees and incorporate my career development objectives, ultimately advancing the science of interventions to preserve physical function in older people with HIV and support patient-oriented researchers.