Over the last five years, the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA) has developed innovative approaches to facilitate translational research on aging in community settings. In this renewal, the Center seeks to apply this extensive body of work to promoting translational research on the topic of pain and pain management in later life. This theme is of critical importance for translational efforts, because pain is a highly prevalent, costly, and frequently disabling disorder in later life and causes substantial suffering. Successful solutions to the problem of later-life pain will require moving basic behavioral and social science findings more rapidly into programs, practices, and policies targeting older adults.
The specific aims of the Center will be to: 1) Translate the findings of basic behavioral and social science research into treatments, intervention programs, and policies that improve the health and well-being of older adults who suffer from or are at increased risk for pain;2) Promote translation of evidence-based practices, treatments, and interventions across diverse venues to improve the management of pain;3) Develop and test innovative methods, tools, and strategies that facilitate successful translation of evidence into practice;4) Maintain and expand an effective infrastructure for conducting translational research on aging and pain, taking advantage of the diverse, multicultural environment of New York City;and 5) Leverage the substantial intellectual, fiscal, clinical, and other resources of the academic collaborators in this application, thereby achieving results that would not be attainable by any one institution alone. To accomplish these aims, we will expand our Roybal Center, which currently includes the strengths and expertise of Cornell University's Medical College and its social and behavioral science faculty, to partnership with Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Further, we will fully integrate two major Cornell-affiliated academic institutions into the Center that have extensive academic expertise and resources devoted to pain and pain management: Memorial Sloan Kettering (Oncology and Palliative care) and the Hospital for Special Surgery (Arthritis and Rehabilitation). This expansion of the Cornell Roybal Center will be called The Cornell-Columbia Institute for Translational Research on Aging (C-CITRA). This unique partnership brings together two of the most prominent institutions in the field of gerontology and geriatrics, both of which have a long history of translational research activities, extensive community partnerships, and large pools of potential affiliates and mentees.
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