LIFE program receives $2.9 million grant to study aging
As the first baby boomers reach 65, OSU will use the research grant to train graduate students in the science of aging
Joce DeWitt
Issue date: 2/2/11 Section: News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
To train future generations in the science of aging, the National Science Foundation recently awarded a $2.9 million federal grant to the Oregon State University LIFE program.
"We were awarded through a competitive process. Twenty groups were funded out of 444," said Karen Hooker, director of OSU's Center for Healthy Aging and Research and lead investigator for the program.
The five-year grant was awarded to the center in order to develop the IGERT program, which stands for Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training for Ph.D. students.
"This grant will support graduate students who are interested in aging and health across a variety of disciplines which participate in the Center," said Carolyn Aldwin, a professor in human developmental and family sciences and a core director at the Center for Healthy Aging Research.
The University's Center for Healthy Aging Research, established in 2005, is the edifice that has brought all different types of aging scholars together under one roof, and was the birthplace of the LIFE program.
"The center is the structure that gets people together," said Hooker, who also said the recently-announced grant was awarded due to ground-breaking aging research that has transpired since the center's inception. "It makes us more visible."
LIFE, which stands for Linking Individuals, Families and Environments is a community of OSU researchers working together to make discoveries on optimal aging over an individual's lifetime.
According to Hooker, there are four core areas of aging research within the Center for Healthy Aging Research. The major disciplines include diet, genes and aging, bone health exercise and function in aging, psychosocial factors and optimal aging, and social and ethical issues in technologies for healthy aging.
One of the primary purposes of the IGERT program is to educate American Ph.D. scientists and engineers who plan to pursue careers in research and education with the interdisciplinary backgrounds and the skills necessary to become leaders.
"IGERT requires extensive training in one of the four CHAR cores," Hooker said.
Graduate students in IGERT work directly with a professor in a specific aging interdisciplinary subject in order to shape the science and products that will optimize the well-being of older adults in society.
"It is expected that their work will cut across departments and faculty from the different disciplines," Aldwin said. "This will allow the faculty to participate in interdisciplinary programs."
"We need to have good students that have a full-blown perspective so they can bring new perspectives and new ideas," said Tory Hagen, a professor in biochemistry and biophysics, also a core director for CHAR.
The type of cross-platform training the grant endorses allows graduate students studying a specific discipline within aging and elderly living to obtain a broader knowledge in all other disciplines.
"The program provides training for new graduate students at that level where they get a really good understanding of aging," Hagen said. "It allows them to see other aspects of aging they wouldn't get in a given department."
As suggested by the four core areas of research within LIFE, the science of aging must be studied from all angles.
"Specifically, several of us are interested in the various factors which accelerate or decelerate the aging process. This can range from cellular mechanisms, which protect the integrity of the cell, to health behavior habits to social policies," Aldwin said.
According to Hooker, through a $30,000 stipend that lasts at least two years, students not only gain extensive interdisciplinary knowledge on the science of aging, but also develop professional skills every researcher and scientist should have.
"IGERT requires extensive training in one of the four CHAR cores," Hooker said.
Graduate students in IGERT work directly with a professor in a specific aging interdisciplinary subject in order to shape the science and products that will optimize the well-being of older adults in society.
"It is expected that their work will cut across departments and faculty from the different disciplines," Aldwin said. "This will allow the faculty to participate in interdisciplinary programs."
"We need to have good students that have a full-blown perspective so they can bring new perspectives and new ideas," said Tory Hagen, a professor in biochemistry and biophysics, also a core director for CHAR.
The type of cross-platform training the grant endorses allows graduate students studying a specific discipline within aging and elderly living to obtain a broader knowledge in all other disciplines.
"The program provides training for new graduate students at that level where they get a really good understanding of aging," Hagen said. "It allows them to see other aspects of aging they wouldn't get in a given department."
As suggested by the four core areas of research within LIFE, the science of aging must be studied from all angles.
"Specifically, several of us are interested in the various factors which accelerate or decelerate the aging process. This can range from cellular mechanisms, which protect the integrity of the cell, to health behavior habits to social policies," Aldwin said.
According to Hooker, through a $30,000 stipend that lasts at least two years, students not only gain extensive interdisciplinary knowledge on the science of aging, but also develop professional skills every researcher and scientist should have.
"We are teaching students to communicate with other scientists and the public because we need them to explain what it is we are doing," she said. "We teach professional skills such as writing, teaching and research ethics."
When a student completes IGERT, they earn a minor in aging sciences.
The reason these graduate students undergo so much training in the area of optimal aging is because it is an issue more relevant in today's world than ever before.
"Looking back on a timeline, people didn't really live that long. The current concerns weren't really an issue in generations previous to us. With the Baby Boomer generation retiring, we're going to see a big difference. With better prenatal care and better means of living longer with disease, life span has taken a dramatic increase," Hagen explained.
Hooker said she is excited about the effects of better health and increasing life span on the elderly.
"With health care improving across the globe, people are aging," said Hooker, who claims research in this field is vital because older adults are resourceful. "We want to increase health span as well as life span. Older people can contribute to society in ways we've never imagined."
Joce DeWitt, staff writer
737-2231, news@dailybarometer.com
No comments:
Post a Comment