The older population will more than double from 35 million in 2000 to 72 million in 2030 and comprise almost 20% of the U.S. population. To help avert the disability challenges these individuals will face, the University of Florida (UF) Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) Research Education Core (REC) promotes the development of independent investigators in interdisciplinary research on aging related to older Americans' mobility. This core emphasizes the competency-based development of research and leadership skills for translating basic findings into clinical research and clinical findings into basic research. Key to this approach is our partnerships with UF's NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). Core resources are integrated with other internal and external sources for career support, including UF support; NIH and non-NIH career- development awards, minority supplements, research awards, and fellowships; and CTSI and VA support. The REC supports the research training of Junior Scholars who span the spectrum from beginning trainees not yet funded to advanced trainees who have competed successfully for career-development awards or grants that provide substantial salary support. Beginning Junior Scholars receive direct salary support from the REC to protect their time for career development and research. Advanced Junior Scholars may already have sufficient salary support but are eligible for REC mentorship, staff, Core support and travel resources, and REC training activities. In our first year, we propose eight Junior Scholars from four different UF Colleges (Nursing, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Public Health and Health Professions, and Medicine). Three Junior Scholars have clinical degrees and responsibilities; one is of Hispanic ethnicity; four are women and several have co-funding from key partners, their home departments, and/or extramural career development funding. The REC's overarching goal is to recruit, select, and train talented Junior Scholars committed to translational science and to integrating clinical insights of health/disease and independence/disability in older adults. Using their knowledge of advances in the basic sciences, these Junior Scholars will strive to improve clinical interventions that help the elderly avert mobility loss and maintain independence. We emphasize an interdisciplinary career-development plan that generates combined knowledge from a diverse cadre of scientists (basic, translational, social, behavioral, epidemiological, and clinical). Tailored career-development plans for each proposed REC-supported Junior Scholar, include, but are not limited to: a) a research project integrated with this OAIC's premise; b) a formal training strategy that stresses the integration of basic and clinical research and interactions across the OAIC research spectrum and the other OAIC Core facilities; c) a formal mentorship program that uses a team approach to foster basic and clinical science approaches; and d) a monitoring process to evaluate trainees' progress formally using specific milestones and achievements.
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