Core Co-Leaders: James Goodwin, MD and Melissa Morrow, PhD

The UTMB Health Pepper Center continues to promote development of the next generation of research leaders in geriatrics and gerontology through direct financial support for salary, structured mentoring, participation in interdisciplinary conferences, didactic training, and networking activities. Scholars have access to infrastructure support from the REC and other cores, from the Institute for Translational Sciences (CTSA), and from other OAICs as appropriate.

Specific aims of the REC are to:

1. Identify, recruit and retain qualified candidates who have the potential to develop successful careers in translational science consistent with the mission and theme of the University of Texas Medical Branch OAIC.
2. Create Individualized Career Development Plans for each scholar that identify a lead mentor and mentoring team with defined roles.
3. Develop, conduct and evaluate education and training activities integrated with mentoring and research experiences based on the Individualized Career Development Plan. Develop the skills necessary to establish an academic career that will lead to productive team science and external funding.

Core Co-Leaders: James Goodwin, MD and Melissa Morrow, PhD

The UTMB Health Pepper Center Leadership and Administrative Core provides scientific leadership, administrative infrastructure, financial and regulatory oversight in support of the activities and growth of the center. The LAC employs an established shared leadership model that optimizes efficiency, productivity, team science, multidisciplinary, and coherence with the theme: Translate pathways of function loss and gain into interventions to improve functional recovery in diverse geriatric populations.

LAC Specific Aims are:

1. Provide scientific leadership and direction toward the overall goals of the UTMB OAIC. We will: -
   • Monitor and respond to new research opportunities;
   • Proactively stimulate research and collaborations at the local and national level with input from the Internal Advisors, the External Advisory Board (EAB) and the REC Advisory Board (RAB);
   • Attract new investigators with training opportunities, pilot and developmental projects, with special emphasis on diversity of investigators and diversity of researched populations; 
   • Coordinate and integrate Core functions, promoting scientific coherence, access, and new utilization of Core resources to advance translational research and training; 
   • Coordinate and leverage OAIC Cores with other institutional, OAIC network and Resource Center Coordinating Network (RCCN) resources.
2. Manage the UTMB OAIC program in compliance with applicable policies. This includes:
   • Track and evaluate Core utilization, productivity, quality and efficiency using the continuous improvement method, with reallocation of resources among cores as appropriate;
   • Assure compliance with university and government research policies, and monitor patient safety;
   • Organize research and administrative meetings, Scientific Advisory Panel, EAB and RAB; - Organize active participation of UTMB investigators at the annual national OAIC Investigators meeting;
   • Report to and communicate with the NIA and the OAIC Coordinating Center in a timely manner;
   • Maintain the UTMB OAIC website and social media and support community outreach.
3. Increase the UTMB OAIC impact locally and nationally. We will:
   • Expand the pre-clinical research pipeline by strategically collaborating with other institutional programs;
   • Spearhead new collaborations with other OAICs on multisite studies in hospitalized geriatric patients;
   • Strengthen the partnership with the UTMB Health System to translate research discoveries into clinical practice to improve the health and clinical care of our geriatric patients;
   • Expand the bidirectional collaborations with the newly funded UTMB RCMAR, establishing an OAIC Hispanic Aging Council for supporting new research, clinical trials and training in Hispanic aging.

Core Co-Leaders: Brian Downer, PhD and Kyriakios Markides, PhD; Leader in Training: Monique Pappadis, PhD

The goal of the Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) is to stimulate innovative research that can lead to external funding for projects focused on understanding and improving physical function and independence in older adults. The PESC primarily targets and mentors early-stage investigators but also supports senior researchers in other fields to expand their research programs in alignment with the OAIC theme: Translate Pathways of Function Loss and Gain into Interventions to Optimize Functional Recovery in Diverse Geriatric Populations. The PESC provides funding for 1-2 year pilot projects and 1-year small exploratory projects.

By leveraging institutional resources and collaborating with other OAICs, the PESC aims to accomplish the following specific objectives:

1. Stimulate new research foci relevant to the OAIC theme. We will:
   • Solicit, review and select meritorious proposals, relevant to the OAIC theme, for PESC funding.
   • Identify opportunities for collaboration and co-sponsorship of PESC studies.
   • Provide mentoring support and access to resources from other OAIC cores and institutional facilities.
2. Oversee and monitor the funded projects. We will:
   • Monitor the progress of PESC studies.
   • Ensure regulatory compliance, safety and protection of human subjects enrolled in PESC studies.
   • Track success and productivity of the funded projects.
3. Support the development of new research programs.
   • Provide individual mentoring and resources to transition completed PESC studies into competitive, external grant applications.

Core Co-Leaders: Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD and Heidi Spratt, PhD

The UTMB OAIC Biostatistics and Data Management Resource Core 3 (BDMRC3) provides biostatistical support, collaboration and training, and develops novel biostatistic and data management tools for research relevant to the OAIC theme: Translate pathways of functional loss and gain into interventions to optimize functional recovery in diverse geriatric populations.

Specific aims of the BDMRC3 are:

1. Collaborate as investigators for OAIC projects with focus on improving physical function and recovery in older adults. The projects include pilot studies, developmental projects, and externally funded research;
2. Train Research Education Core (REC) scholars in biostatistics and data management to help them plan, conduct, and interpret results of their investigations in aging;
3. Enhance research information system infrastructure to assist in the procurement, management, and processing of data collected from extant databases;
4. Develop novel biostatistics methods and visual analytic applications for aging research.