The mission of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) OAIC is to: 1) develop and test interventions aimed at preventing disability in older Americans; 2) link basic mechanistic research in the cell biology and physiology of muscle function to clinical interventions to improve muscle function; 3) train new investigators and future faculty leaders in aging research; 4) recruit established investigators from different disciplines into aging research; and 5) disseminate information to investigators, practitioners and the public relevant to the goal of preserving independence in older Americans. The major scientific focus of the UTMB OAIC is muscle function in older men and women. We are proposing to study muscle function from several perspectives: 1) the cell biology of aging muscle, changes in nuclear and mitochondrial gene function that contribute to decreases in muscle function with age; 2) physiology of aging muscle, examining the synthesis and degradation of specific muscle proteins and its relationship to availability of precursor amino acids; and 3) clinical evaluation and outcomes of decreased muscle function, examining the relationships among measurements in the four categories of the Disablement Process Model. These will take place in the context of clinical trials of nutritional, hormonal and exercise interventions in older subjects. By focusing on cellular mechanisms, we will be able to develop and optimize interventions to improve muscle function using relatively small numbers of subjects. By focusing on cellular mechanisms, we will be able to develop and optimize interventions to improve muscle function using relatively small numbers of subjects. Once optimized, they can be tested in larger trials with functional status as the major outcome. The research development and training of the UTMB OAIC will emphasize research on muscle function, but will include all junior and established investigators whose work is relevant to preserving independence of older Americans. In particular, in addition to training geriatricians, we will train clinicians in specialties as surgery, cardiology and anesthesiology in aging research, and we will continue to recruit established investigators from those areas into the study of aging. A major theme of the UTMB OAIC is minority aging.
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