Age-related disease is arguably the single greatest challenge for biomedicine in the 21st Century. By 2030 the national healthcare bill is predicted to be four trillion dollars, fully half of which will be required for persons aged 65 and older. Aging is the most important risk factor for human disease in developed countries, and consequently creates an enormous social and economic impact. Our ability to tackle age- related disease is undermined by our lack of understanding of the principles and mechanisms of aging. Aging is a multifaceted and profound biomedical problem that is unlikely to yield to traditional investigative techniques. We propose that only by studying the interface of normal aging and aging diseases, in an interdisciplinary fashion, can we build the knowledge that will facilitate intervention. We propose to initiate a new field (""""""""interdiscipline"""""""") called Geroscience that, by analogy to the creation of the field of Neuroscience, will have wide-reaching ramifications for biomedical science, healthcare, the training of future interdisciplinary researchers in Geroscience, and the national response to the many problems associated with the """"""""graying of America."""""""" The Buck Institute is an NIH-designated Center of Excellence, the only independent research institute in the U.S. that is focused solely on aging research, and since its very planning and inception has been devoted to interdisciplinary research;therefore, its approaches and operation to date fit extremely well with the NCRR guidelines for the current application. Based on our track record of highly collaborative, cross-discipline activity, our high density of researchers in this new field, and our designation as a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence, we believe that we are uniquely placed to form an Interdisciplinary Research Consortium in Geroscience.
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