For the fifth consecutive time, the Yale Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) has been renewed for funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The Center is one of only two such programs nationwide to receive continuous NIA support since it was first funded in 1992, marking more than 25 years of excellence in geriatrics and aging research under the leadership of Geriatrics Section Chief Dr. Mary Tinetti, Dr. Thomas Gill, and Dr. Terri Fried.
The latest renewal, totaling approximately $5.7 million over five years, supports the innovative work of this multidisciplinary center. The focus of the center has long been the investigation of complex geriatric conditions that have multiple causes, or that affect multiple outcomes. From this perspective, the center’s objectives are to increase scientific knowledge, advance the science of clinical decision making, and educate new investigators dedicated to aging research.
Specifically, the funding renewal will be directed to a wide range of activities, including: career development of leaders in aging research; training; study design and development; strategies for recruitment of older persons into studies; investigations of causes and treatments for complex geriatric conditions; interdisciplinary research; and strengthening collaborations.
According to Principal Investigator Gill, the Pepper Center’s “interdisciplinary team and environment nurture leadership roles and research skills in OAIC junior investigators and advance the scientific knowledge base of multifactorial geriatric conditions and, in turn, change the way that we practice medicine.”
To that end, the center provides an infrastructure for aging research at Yale and makes major investments in pilot studies and in the next generation of investigators committed to pursuing aging research. Yale is currently serving as the data-coordinating center for STRIDE, the largest fall injury prevention study ever conducted.
More details are available at the center’s website.