The aims of the Research Development (RD) Core are: to a) foster development of junior faculty into independent investigators with successful research programs focused on improving the understanding, prevention, and treatment of medical problems of aging in humans and b) promote a broad base of research on aging research by faculty at the U of R Medical Center. The collective training and investigative strengths of the director, co-directors and faculty mentors contribute to a program providing: seed money for new initiatives; guidance and support for career development; access to institutionally-subsidized core facilities; and an educational program of seminars, didactic courses, and teaching and training experiences. The RD Core will support: (1) Junior Faculty Awards of up to $25,000/yr for 1 or 2 yrs for studies in the diverse areas that comprise aging research. Awards require an NIH-format grant and rigorous peer-review, and depend on a candidate's potential for success in an independent academic career. (2) Pilot Project of up to $15,000/yr, are similarly reviewed and provide seed money to address a new focus of aging research. These awards can assist development of junior investigators in their progression to independence, or can provide funds that allow seasoned investigators to undertake a project in aging research. The RD Core provides access to institutionally-supported faculty including the Clinical Research Center, the biomedical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (for stable isotope analyses in metabolic studies), the Data Coordinating Center of the experimental Therapeutics Unit, the molecular biology cores of the University, the Center for Visual Sciences, the Molecular Imaging facility, and the Biostatistics Core of the Pepper Center. The Core Director and Co-directors direct NIH-training programs, and with the faculty mentors, have NIH-funded research programs and strong track records in training appropriate for the supervision of junior faculty in aging research. Junior investigators receiving pilot or junior faculty funds have faculty mentor, oversight mechanisms for evaluating their research progress by the RD Core directors, and formal and informal educational experiences that include required didactic courses, seminars by Pepper Center faculty and visiting scientist, and an annual RAPC school-wide colloquium. These all contribute to an environment for the successful development of junior faculty, recruitment of seasoned investigators into aging research, and development of collaborative interactions between medical center researchers. Examples of all of these are given in the Progress Report.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 53 publications
