As the U.S. population ages, it has become increasingly important to understand the fundamental basis of aging and age-related disease. Age is the largest single risk factor for a panoply of diseases, including neurodegeneration, cancer, type II diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Eliminating any one of these diseases will increase average years of healthy life (health span). Postponing, or decreasing the rate of, aging will retard the course of multiple age-related diseases and thus provide even greater increases in average health span. Thus, rational approaches to preventing or intervening in age-related disease will require an integrated basic research strategy: understanding the specific etiologies of these diseases, and understanding the basic mechanism of aging. Crucial to this strategy is our ability to train a cohort of scientists, knowledgeable in modern cell, molecular and physiological sciences, and committed and prepared to apply that knowledge to the problem of aging and age-related disease. This application proposes to create a unique and exciting new training program in aging research based on two ongoing programs, one at the Buck Institute for Age Research (PI: Dale Bredesen) and the other at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)/University of California Berkeley (UCB) (PI: Judith Campisi). In the past four and seven years, these programs provided postdoctoral fellows with excellent training in basic aging and age-related disease research. We now propose to continue and expand these thriving programs by assembling one cohesive training program from outstanding scientists from these three Bay area institutions. As a recently designated NIA Nathan Shock Center for Aging and growing Institute focused on aging and age-related disease research, the Buck Institute is well-poised to lead this combined effort. The proposed new program will offer postdoctoral scientists unique and outstanding training for a career in aging research. In addition to benefiting from diverse faculty expertise in topics relevant to aging, age-dependent diseases, the program will provide trainees with access to superb facilities in genomics, proteomics and model systems. Trainees will gain skills in research design, critical thinking, and evaluation of new research findings through participation in courses, basic science and clinical research seminars, journal clubs and focused research meetings, in which their results will be discussed from both basic and applied perspectives. In addition, trainees will receive instruction in research ethics, as well as written and verbal skills to enrich their publications, grant proposals and oral presentations. Trainees will also have opportunities to meet and interact with current leaders in aging and age-related disease research through organized trainee-sponsored seminars and Institute sponsored symposia and courses. Thus, fellows in this program will gain state-of the-art training and knowledge in modern aging research, enabling them to embark on careers dedicated to understanding the bases for aging and age-related disease and devise strategies to improve the health span of the aging U.S. population. ? ? ?
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