Given the public health and policy challenges posed by the aging of the large population born after World War II, research aimed at understanding the myriad influences on health and immune function of middle aged-older adults is vital. The process of aging includes declining bodily system function and immunosenescence. The rate of loss of function is dictated, in large part, by genetic makeup. An emerging picture from the literature is that, among the aging-related changes in health, there is a chronic, low level inflammatory response that we hypothesize to be a function of personality, and repeated exposures to what are perceived to be stressful life events. It is in middle aged-older individuals, then, that the interplay of these factors is most likely to be elucidated. The interaction among aging, individual differences and environmental factors is the """"""""stuff1 of the Rochester Center for Mind-Body Research. In the RCMBR, we capitalize on our considerable strengths in clinical science, aging research, developmental psychobiology and psychoneuroimmunology. We bring together scientists from multiple disciplines to create cross-disciplinary research teams that partner with clinicians, community activists and agencies to address human aging from our unique perspective. In this renewal, we blend in our strong program of animal research, which allows us to examine biopsychosocial interactions across the life course, beginning with the perinatal period. Our human research is premised on the notion that age and individual differences moderate the effects of socioenvironmental circumstances on immune function and other health outcomes. The effects of early life experiences may become magnified in older adult humans and animals experiencing declines in immune and central nervous system function. RCMBR studies among older adult humans will be complemented by longitudinal studies in rodents that will address the effects of individual differences and early life experiences on immunity and health across the lifespan. Since its inception in August 2004, the RCMBR has built a portfolio of pilot studies and NIH funded grants. In the next three years, investigators in the Human Aging and Developmental Animal Research Cores and their collaborators will continue to pursue cutting-edge research consonant with our scientific mission. We will also expand our recruitment and research initiatives from the clinics to the community. The Community Relations and Recruitment Core will educate and advise investigators on effective community outreach and important aspects of community-based participatory research. All RCMBR investigators will be supported by the Administrative Core, the Biological and Behavioral Assessment Core, the Biostatistics Core, and the Training, Assessment, and Risk Management Core.
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