An Announcement from the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center
National Institute on Aging Renews Funding for the UTMB Health Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center
Many older adults live with chronic disabling conditions that make daily activities such as walking, managing medications, or preparing meals more difficult. These long-lasting health problems may arise later in life, such as after a stroke or with the onset of heart disease or dementia, or may be present from birth or early adulthood, such as spina bifida or a spinal cord injury. While people are living longer than ever before, not everyone is able to age with the same level of health or independence. For people living with disabilities, the effects of aging can begin earlier and progress more quickly, leading to faster declines in strength, balance, or memory and making it harder to stay independent. Reducing health disparities, including unequal access to care, safe housing, and transportation, is essential to helping all older adults live healthier, more independent lives.
To address the growing challenges to independence and quality of life faced by older adults living with chronic disabling conditions, the National Institute on Aging has awarded $ $6,499,994 in renewed funding to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC). This five-year award will support the Center through August 2030.
Continuously funded since 2000, the UTMB Health OAIC brings together an interdisciplinary team dedicated to advancing aging science. To date, the Center has trained 41 scholars and published more than 860 research papers. Building on this foundation, the Center will continue to support innovative aging research and train the next generation of leaders in the field.
The guiding theme for the next funding cycle is to enhance functional independence in older adults with chronic disabling conditions by reducing health disparities. These conditions can affect the body, mind, and behavior, and their impact is often greater for individuals facing additional social or economic challenges. The Center aims to study factors that influence independence, develop and test new interventions, apply those interventions in clinical and real-world settings, and train new scholars.
The UTMB Health OAIC will expand research on disabilities acquired early in life, increase participation of underserved older adults in research, and develop technology-enabled interventions to support independence. This work will be supported by several integrated cores. The Research Design, Analysis, and Data Management Core, the Clinical and Community-Based Research Core, and the new Technology-Enabled Research Core will provide methodological support and training for ongoing projects. The Research Education Core will coordinate the education and development of new scholars, while the Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core will promote scientific innovation. The Leadership and Administrative Core will coordinate and oversee all activities of the Center.
The UTMB Health OAIC is co-led by Melissa Morrow, PhD, from the School of Health Professions, and James Goodwin, MD, from the John Sealy School of Medicine. Core leadership spans multiple schools across UTMB Health, including Mukaila Raji, MD; Alan Landay, PhD; and Erin Hommel, MD from the John Sealy School of Medicine; Kyriakos Markides, PhD; Neil Mehta, PhD; Soham Al Snih, MD, PhD; Monique Pappadis, MEd, PhD; Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD; Brian Downer, PhD; Alejandro Villasante-Tezanos, PhD; and Meredith Masel, PhD, MSW from the School of Public and Population Health; Steven Fisher, PhD, PT, and Elizabeth Lyons, PhD from the School of Health Professions; and Kelly Grace, PhD from the Health Education Center.
Named in honor of the late Representative Claude D. Pepper, the OAIC program was created to establish centers of excellence that advance scientific knowledge and develop better ways to maintain or restore independence in older persons.
For more information about the UTMB Health OAIC, visit: www.utmb.edu/pepper.