Center for Research on Aging

Co-Directors: Andrew P. Goldberg, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine;
Jay S. Magaziner, PhD, MS Hyg., Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health

The Center for Research on Aging was established in 1998 under the leadership of Andrew P. Goldberg, MD, and Jay S. Magaziner, PhD, MS Hyg. The Center interfaces with and complements existing efforts of investigators in gerontology and geriatric medicine to develop research, educational and clinical programs which nurture and expand research and research training in aging, and it is committed to developing and implementing collaborative research and training in these critical areas at the University of Maryland campuses.

The mission of the Center for Research on Aging is to enhance the involvement and collaboration among University of Maryland faculty members in the conduct of research in aging, and to expand the conduct of interdisciplinary research training in gerontology through collaborations of investigators in gerontology at the University of Maryland Baltimore's (UMB) six health professional schools, the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Maryland College Park. To accomplish these goals, the Center coordinates research and research training in those areas of gerontology that transcend traditional disciplinary lines and are amenable to an interdisciplinary approach.

The Center has created, facilitated and expanded collaborations among investigators to further the development of academic excellence in key areas of clinical, epidemiological, basic biomedical, mental health, legal-ethical, health services and population-based research in aging. This has amplified and enriched these areas, provided outstanding research training and educational opportunities for students, trainees and health professionals, and enhanced the delivery of multidisciplinary geriatric care.

The Center for Research on Aging emphasizes research and training in primary and secondary aspects of aging, epidemiology and health services research, the pathogenesis and treatment of chronic diseases in the elderly, and the processes and mechanisms by which the health status of the elderly can be improved through innovative translational clinical research. The Center has optimized the use of resources by building on the strengths of existing funded initiatives in aging research at the University of Maryland. These include the State of Maryland funded Gerontology and Geriatrics Education and Research (GGEAR) Program; the Baltimore Hip Studies; the Department of Veterans Affairs Baltimore VA Medical Center Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) VA Center of Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Neuroplasticity; the UMB Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center; the Maryland Long-Term Care Project; the National Study of Osteoporotic Fractures; and NIH research training (T32) programs in exercise physiology and metabolism research in aging, the epidemiology of aging and rehabilitation sciences.

The Center also has prepared several large data resources such as the Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey and Stroke Registry that can be used to address targeted areas of research and design new projects. The Center for Research on Aging is committed to promoting research and research training in the foci of these initiatives: 1) exercise rehabilitation in functionally limited older patients with chronic disease; 2) the epidemiology of hip fracture; 3) the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease through health promotion and disease prevention programs in exercise and nutrition; 4) the long-term care in the elderly residing in residential and assisted-living sites; 5) the rehabilitation and epidemiology of stroke; 6) mental health and neurocognitive function; 7) health services and quality of life research; 8) obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the elderly; 9) racial disparities in metabolic and cardiovascular responses to exercise and weight loss in postmenopausal women; and 9) interdisciplinary geriatric teams. In these areas of geriatric research the Center promotes interdisciplinary research among faculty with similar interests, and supports pilot studies by trainees and junior faculty to enhance their competitiveness for peer-reviewed funding in gerontology.

Membership in the Center for Research on Aging is open to faculty, fellows and trainees engaged in research on aging at UMB and affiliated campuses, as well as members of academic institutions in Maryland who have major professional interests in gerontology and are involved in collaborative research in the Center. The Center's administrative infrastructure supports and fosters academic interactions and collaborations among faculty, and assists investigators in the development of new research projects and grants for peer-reviewed funding. Center members meet regularly to discuss and develop research projects, and benefit from the interdisciplinary approach of Center leadership to the conduct of innovative research, education and research training in gerontology.