This is a proposal to establish a NIA Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at the University of Maryland that will enrich existing interdisciplinary research and educational resources in gerontology. The goal of the University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (UM-OAIC) is to provide a fertile environment for research and the education and training of junior faculty in the clinical, biomedical and health service skills in gerontology. The leadership of the UM-OAIC will: 1) Provide support for controlled clinical trials of aggressive risk factor modification program in older individuals with disabling peripheral arterial disease and congestive heart failure; 2) Train junior faculty, research associates and trainees in research methodologies to investigate the effectiveness of interventions which enhance functional independence and enrich the quality of life of older patients; 3) Establish resources that link mechanistic, intervention, and outcomes research to understand the pathophysiology of the disability of patients with peripheral arterial disease and congestive heart failure and 4) Promote interprofessional collaboration of UM-OAIC faculty in research and education in gerontology. An interprofessional team of physical scientists and Ph.D.'s trained in biomedical, physiological, behavioral, epidemiologic and health services aging research has been assembled to accomplish this goal. Functional declines and loss of independence from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are major public health problems in the elderly. Thus, we propose three Intervention Studies to examine the impact of exercise rehabilitation and dietary modification on elderly claudication and congestive heart failure patients. The Research Resources Core (RRC) will support the Intervention Studies by offering biomedical support in the following areas: 1) Health Epidemiology and Health Services (RRC-A); 2) Clinical Physiology (RRC-B) and 3) Biostatistics (RRC-C). The Research Development Core will foster the development of junior-level investigators by funding three junior faculty investigators and four Pilot Projects. Finally, the Demonstration/Information Dissemination Core will use an outreach network to disseminate research results to the public and health care providers. A Claude D. Pepper Center at the University of Maryland will provide the unifying structure to integrate the depth of research talent, and breadth of clinical programs in geriatrics and gerontology and apply these resources and strategies to intervention studies focusing on promoting functional independence in older citizens.
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