Leadership Administrative Core (LAC) Project Summary/Abstract The Leadership Administrative Core (LAC) is responsible for the strategic planning, organization, communication, fiscal management, regulatory functions, and dissemination of findings related to the Pittsburgh Pepper OAIC (Pitt OAIC). The LAC receives valuable input and direction from 5 advisory groups including: 1) the External Advisory Board (EAB) (national experts), 2) the Institutional Advisory Board (IAB) (multidisciplinary group of experts on aging from the University and the Veterans Administration), 3) the Community Advisory Board (CAB) (representatives from local health care agencies, IRB, media, and local leaders), and 4) the Research Education Component (REC) Advisory and the PESC Advisory Committees (both internal and external experts). These advisory groups provide advice and insight to the Executive Committee (EC) composed of OAIC core leadership. Our specific aims are to: 1. Foster communication and multidisciplinary collaboration among OAIC investigators, cores and projects. 2. Promote awareness and involvement in our work by relevant investigators and research programs in and outside the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) using various dissemination techniques. 3. Represent the OAIC to other OAICs and the larger academic, NIH, VA, clinical and lay communities. 4. Through the EAB, maintain independent oversight of OAIC processes, resources and progress. 5. Provide research oversight and monitoring for OAIC human studies and establish a DSMB as necessary. 6. Sponsor a Research Seminar series, an Annual Retreat, Workgroups, works in progress, formal internal grant reviews, and new partnership initiatives. 7. Increase basic, clinical and implementation research partnerships. 8. Provide administrative support and manage financial records for the entire Pitt OAIC. 9. Collaborate outside the Institution on OAIC related themes. For this renewal, through the efforts of the LAC, we create new programs and structures to implement innovative programmatic changes; 1) We greatly expand our partnership with the Veterans Administration (VA) in order to extend our portfolio of age-related mobility and balance research to the Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) that serves VISN 4, and 2) We bring new expertise to disseminate and implement our findings in “the real world” through partnerships and collaborations locally, regionally, and nationally through our community and healthcare partners, including the VA. The LAC will be primarily responsible for ensuring all Cores and Workgroups have access to and engage with Pitt resources that focus on implementing evidence-based interventions into practice.
PESC Summary/Abstract The goal of the Pitt OAIC/Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) is to support innovative pilot research proposals thematically aligned with the Pittsburgh OAIC mission to optimize balance and mobility and reduce falls in older adults. The PESC selects proposals that expand the breadth and depth of the Pitt OAIC program and contribute to the overarching national OAIC goals to maintain or restore independence of older persons. The types of pilot studies span the research spectrum, including basic, clinical, translational, implementation and community-based approaches. In the past 4 years, the PESC supported 14 Pilot Studies and 2 Small REC Pilots, and selected and monitored 5 Developmental Projects, resulting in 23 peer-reviewed publications. These projects have successfully resulted in over $18 million of external funding, primarily from NIH. The PESC is also committed to mentoring investigators and advancing their careers, fostering skills and orientation to team-based research and geriatric outcomes. The Specific Aims of the PESC are to: 1) promote, review, and foster basic, translational, clinical and implementation research oriented to mobility, balance and aging; establish and conduct systematic program evaluations, and to accelerate innovative methodological, technological, and conceptual approaches, particularly those that catalyze collaborations across departments, and thereby expanding interest in aging research and 2) To assemble transdisciplinary teams to provide individualized, sustained mentoring to Pilot applicants and awardees and tailored grantsmanship support. In year one of the renewal, we propose to fund three standard Pilot research projects and one REC Pilot demonstrating the Pittsburgh OAIC’s growth areas (fostering basic/translational/clinical/implementation research, fostering collaborations with the VA, and multidisciplinary approaches to mobility, balance and aging research).
The overall goals of the Pittsburgh Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center (OAIC), funded since 2004, are to address the critical need to improve mobility, balance, and falls risk. We will continue to achieve these goals both through improved understanding of their causes and through development of preventive and therapeutic interventions. New for this renewal we will extend our work and partnerships into new and high potential areas and bring several innovations to our activities and Cores.
