FUNDING FOR AGING RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
The late U.S. Senator
Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) circa 1937 |
Last fall was the tenth anniversary of the establishment, at
the University of Michigan, of the nation’s first Claude
D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. The Center was
initially funded with a $6.1 million grant from the National
Institute of Aging to advance research on health care problems
of the elderly and to train future academic leaders in geriatrics.
A recent, successfully competitive renewal grant will continue
funding for the Center through 2004. (Claude Pepper [1900-1989]
was a U.S. senator and congressman from the state of Florida.
A confidant of President Franklin Roosevelt, he led the fight
to bring the U.S. into the Allied effort in World War II. The
ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Aging when
it was created in 1975, he became a powerful advocate for older
Americans, crusading for the strengthening of the Social Security
system and Medicare, and against involuntary retirement, age
discrimination and abuse of the elderly.)
The Pepper grant supports research within the U-M Geriatrics
Center in basic science, clinical science and health services
research dedicated to improving the health of older adults.
Jeffrey B. Halter, M.D., is program director of the Pepper Center
and director of the U-M Geriatrics Center.
Research programs funded by the Pepper grant at Michigan are
in four areas:
- Homeostasis. Coordinator is Jeffrey B. Halter, M.D.
Homeostasis refers to the internal control mechanisms that
regulate important body functions such as blood pressure,
metabolism and temperature. Of particular interest at Michigan
are diabetes mellitus and its complications, altered blood
pressure regulation, and immune system defense and response
to injury.
- Cognitive Function. Coordinator is Roger Albin, M.D.
Cognitive function focuses on the study of the aging nervous
system.
Scientists engaged in this area of research interact with
scientists in the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research
Center, one of 15 centers established by the National Institute
of Aging, and the Center for Applied Cognitive Research on
Aging, which focuses on neuropsychological effects of aging.
- Physical Function. Coordinator is James Ashton-Miller,
Ph.D. This research addresses problems of impaired mobility,
including underlying molecular biological mechanisms, the
role of coordination, skeletal muscles, bones and joints,
and the biomechanics of movement.
- Health and Well Being. Coordinator is William Weissert,
Ph.D. Research in this area focuses on such issues as comparative
health, successful aging, health policy and health systems,
and health behavior and education.
The Pepper Center also includes four “research resources
cores” to support U-M geriatrics research, and a “research
development core” specifically designed to help train junior
faculty in geriatrics research.
The National Institute of Aging also supports many other centers
at the U-M for research on aging, including the Alzheimer’s
Disease Research Center, the Nathan Shock Center for the Biology
of Aging (molecular and cellular mechanisms of the basic biology
of aging), the Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging, the
Center for Applied Cognitive Research on Aging, and the Michigan
Center for Urban African American Aging Research. In addition,
funding from the National Institutes of Health supports the
Alcohol Research Center and studies of alcoholism in the elderly.
The Department of Veterans Affairs also supports aging research
and established a Geriatric Research Education and Clinical
Center at the VA hospital in Ann Arbor in 1988, one of 17 in
the nation. The Center, directed by Mark Supiano, M.D., is funded
with more than $1 million annually.
The State of Michigan has supported aging research at the University
of Michigan since 1965, when it established the Institute of
Gerontology at the U-M. One of the oldest and most highly regarded
academic programs of its kind, the Institute’s public mandate
to pursue research, education, and public service related to
aging has resulted in a large number of graduate courses and
faculty-initiated research projects. The Institute is a major
research resource, encompassing biomedical and social sciences
and their interdisciplinary interaction in studying the aging
process. The Institute provides research training in gerontology
for pre- and post-doctoral students, including all fellows in
geriatric medicine. Ari Gafni, Ph.D., is director of the Institute
and Jeffrey Halter is medical director.
Also:
Will
You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I’m a Hundred
and Twenty-Four?
THE
STEPS TO AGILITY IN OLD AGE: “GAIT GUY” NEIL ALEXANDER
IS WORKING TO FIND THEM
VETERAN
JOURNALIST DANIEL SCHORR HONORED AT U-M GERIATRICS CENTER CELEBRATION
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