Renewal of funding is requested for core facilities which support research and research training functions at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University. The core facilities function in the Center in a manner analogous to the functions of core facilities in a program project but support a broad array of research projects. There is an administrative component to provide overall coordination, and 3 specific components. The specific facilities are: 1) a Computing and Statistical Laboratory, 2) a Survey Data Laboratory and 3) a Human Subject Laboratory. The Duke Center was chartered in 1955 by the University to promote, develop, and coordinate gerontological activity at the University. It currently has an active roster of 100 Senior Fellow investigators working on research issues in gerontology. The specific research projects utilizing these core facilities are funded by the NIH and other funding agencies at more than $15,000,000 yearly. The requested facilities will be available to all Center affiliated investigators, and will provide economies of scale through these shared resources. We will be able to provide services such as coordinated statistical consultation, ready access to many large data sets, and an organized group of human volunteer research subjects. These facilities will also be utilized by our research training programs (e.g., post-doctoral research fellows, and geriatric medicine, dentistry and psychiatry fellows) which depend on these facilities in much of their research training activity.
