This is a resubmission of an application for a new training program focused on aging and the immune system. Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) has invested in and nurtured the growth of research in immunology and aging over the past 9 years. An interdepartmental Immunology and Aging Program (IAP) was established for encouraging aging research on the LUMC campus. This support has yielded a solid group of immunologists who are now well funded by NIH grants from the NIA and NIAID for the study of aging in both adaptive and innate immune systems. The IAP is led by Dr. Pamela Witte, who will be the Training Director for this T32 grant. Our program has grown in parallel with increased interest and funding in this field at national and international levels. The need for formal training programs that focus on the aging of the immune system is critical, considering that emerging health threats often affect older citizens more than other populations. The Faculty Trainers of the proposed Training Program include highly experienced professors who are established in their individual areas of immunology research and who have mentored many trainees, including several in aging research. The need for a NIA sponsored Training Program in Immunology and Aging at Loyola University is two-fold. First, it would allow more trainees to be taken into """"""""aging-focused"""""""" laboratories and providing them an enhanced curriculum in education on aging. Second, securing a T32 award in aging would solidify the Immunology and Aging Program at LUMC. Currently, there are 5 Training Faculty, which will increase with the addition of newly recruited faculty members. The Training Program application initially requests 2 predoctoral positions in the first year and increases to 3 predoctoral positions in years 2-5. The Training Program will draw predoctoral trainees from 3 graduate programs with a past history of recruiting students interested in aging research. Together these 3 programs recruit 10 Ph.D. candidates per year. The largest graduate program is Microbiology/Immunology followed by programs in Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, and Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. The trainees will take courses in their respective graduate programs. All trainees will take advanced electives in immunology and aging. Success in preparing trainees for careers in the exciting area of aging research will be met by the commitment of the Training Faculty to excellence in research, teaching and mentorship.
Interest in changes and deficiencies of the immune system during the aging process has gained momentum in recent years. It is now realized that an adequate comprehension of healthy aging requires more foundational knowledge about how to enhance and control immune responses in the elderly. Research in this important area requires specific training of scientists in immunology, who also have a knowledge base of and appreciation for the mechanisms that govern the aging process. This T32 application will fulfill this need by supporting a predoctoral program for training in immunology and aging.
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