Centenarian Offspring and Vascular Disease Resistance
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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Centenarian offspring (c-offspring) offer a unique opportunity to learn more about the aging process. For the past seven years Dr. Terry has conducted research on the differences between c-offspring and a comparison group whose parents died at an average life expectancy. Preliminary results from her work suggest that the c-offspring have a lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes compared to the comparison group. Given these differences and evidence regarding the familiarity of longevity, she hypothesizes that coffspring are predisposed to longevity by delaying or avoiding cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. The specific aims of this proposed study are to enroll an adequate sample of c-offspring and two comparison groups (one as described above and a second group consisting of spouses of c-offspring) with which to compare cardiovascular health using measures of disease prevalence, vascular function, and biomarkers. In addition, this study aims to determine whether frequencies of polymorphisms in candidate genes related to cardiovascular disease differ among the c-offspring and the two comparison groups. Dr. Terry's research initially involved the phenotypic characterization of individuals who age well with minimal disease burden. Findings have led to the likelihood and the need for investigating genetic associations. In order to become an independent research scientist in aging and genetic epidemiology, Dr. Terry seeks support to spend 10% of her time with her sponsors, Drs. Perls, Silliman, and Benjamin, to advance her knowledge in the design of epidemiological studies of aging and cardiovascular disease. In addition, she proposes to spend 10% of her time working with Dr. Farrer and his genetics team. She also proposes to take courses in genetic and cardiovascular epidemiology, and statistical genetics. Finally, she proposes to attend and present her data at national geriatrics, genetics, and the annual Beeson meetings. The above activities will not only provide Dr. Terry with a greater knowledge of aging, genetics and cardiovascular epidemiology, but also the opportunity to perform multidisciplinary research with collaborators in geriatrics, genetics and other disciplines. Dr. Terry will use the knowledge gained from didactic instruction and mentored research to develop her career as an independent researcher in aging and genetic epidemiology. Her goal from the three years of career development proposed in this Beeson application is to gain the skills necessary to successfully direct the genetic epidemiological aspects of the New England Centenarian Study as well as her own independently funded studies.
