Older adults of racial minorities and low socioeconomic (SES) status represent particularly high risk populations who are underserved and are significantly underrepresented in clinical research. This has led to a gap in knowledge regarding the appropriate and/or optimal prevention and treatment approaches for this high risk group. Within the state of Florida, the city of Jacksonville (JAX) has a high proportion of minority and low SES individuals. By expanding existing research collaborations on both aging and health disparities at its JAX site, the University of Florida (UF) has a unique opportunity to conduct important research that can reduce this knowledge gap. These existing relationships include partnership in conducting multi-center NIH-funded clinical trials, along with several community outreach efforts both at UF Gainesville (GNV) and JAX. However, there is currently no cohesive, organized resource to integrate these important research collaborations in aging and health disparities at UF-JAX. At the UF GNV campus, we have a strong clinical translational research infrastructure with the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, Clinical Translational Science Institute and Disparities Research. In JAX, UF has a large health care facility in a densely populated minority and low SES area, but limited research infrastructure focused on aging research. To fully actualize the potential of this remarkable resource, we propose to develop a dedicated center for aging research focused on racial minorities and low SES older adults. This state-of-the-art clinical translational research facility for multidisciplinary research Jacksonville Aging Studies CENTer (JAX-ASCENT) will closely partner with the UF GNV campus and capitalize on our expertise and resources. Additionally, JAX-ASCENT will create an integrative physical and intellectual environment in which trainees at all levels and scientists from diverse disciplines can interact and conduct clinical and behavioral translational research on aging and independence of older adults. This focus will be pursued using an interdisciplinary approach that traverses a broad spectrum of biomedical investigation, including clinical research, behavioral sciences, social sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, and health services, while implementing rigor and transparency in research. We will develop and partner regarding expertise on clinical trials, recruitment, adherence, retention, assessment of geriatric outcomes, biomarkers, and behavioral studies all focused and tailored on research in urban minorities and low SES older adults. We will apply a conceptual/logic model of community-based participatory research partnerships to improve community involvement and health outcomes, and to build a research participants registry. We will develop the physical and human infrastructure, mentor junior faculty towards leadership roles, and have JAX-ASCENT become self-sustaining. JAX-ASCENT will expand knowledge in clinical translational research in largely understudied populations and both enlarge and enrich the diversity of research in older minority populations, clinical effectiveness, outcomes, and community engagement programs at UF.
With the development of JAX-ASCENT, we will provide resources and personnel (including NIH funded investigators) to support the development and implementation of behavioral, nutritional, and pharmacologic clinical trials, and observational studies of social determinants of health contributing to chronic diseases and functional decline in underserved, minority and low SES older adults. The JAX-ASCENT will fill a critical gap in knowledge regarding the translation and dissemination of research from efficacy studies to underserved, minority older adults who are at high risk of geriatric conditions.
