Aging is a natural process that unfolds as our bodies move through different stages of life. Research focused on aging is an interdisciplinary field, transcending geriatrics and spanning throughout internal medicine, public health, and many other disciplines. In recent years, the Yale Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center has focused on building partnerships and increasing resources on campus for faculty and trainees interested in pursuing aging research.
The Yale Pepper Center aims to promote leadership and innovation for research that enhances the independence of older persons. Grants from the National Institute on Aging have continuously funded the center since 1991. Thomas Gill, MD, Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine (geriatrics) and director of the Yale Pepper Center, says the center has a wide focus.
“We investigate multifactorial geriatric conditions, including falls, delirium, function decline, disability, and cognitive disorders,” says Gill. “We provide career development support, pilot awards, and an outstanding infrastructure to support aging research across Yale.”
Recently, the Yale Pepper Center collaborated with John Hwa, MD, PhD, professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine) at Yale School of Medicine, and Heping Zhang, PhD, Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health, to obtain new funding for their work in Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. They were each awarded $250,000 in direct costs by the National Institute on Aging as an administrative supplement to the Pepper Center grant.
The supplement brings external researchers into Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia research. As a cardiologist, Hwa will use this supplement to look at how platelet function impacts the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Zhang will use the funding to conduct multi-omic studies of DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites to identify risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Gill hopes that the successful supplement applications of Hwa and Zhang will encourage further collaborations between the Pepper Center and other researchers across the university.
“We see the Pepper Center and this administrative supplement program as a mechanism for outreach to investigators outside of geriatrics who may be doing outstanding research in other areas,” says Gill. “These resources provide a strong incentive for them to focus at least some of their research on aging, whether it's the aging lung, the aging heart, or the aging brain. We’ve been very successful in partnering with investigators throughout the medical school, schools of public health and nursing, and main campus over the past 30 years.”
The Department of Internal Medicine’s Section of Geriatrics strives to improve the health of older adults by providing exceptional patient care, training future leaders and innovators in aging, and engaging in cutting-edge research. To learn more about their mission, visit Geriatrics.