Jeremy Walston, (pictured) professor in Geriatrics, Karen Bandeen-Roche, professor in biostatistics and Geriatrics, and Ravi Varadhan, associate professor in Oncology, were recently awarded a U2U3 grant mechanism sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) for their clinical research project entitled "Characterizing Resiliencies to Physical Stressors in Older Adults: A Dynamical Physiological Systems Approach." This award totals $11,560,771 over five years and is focused on the identification of physiological and molecular signatures of resiliency in older adults undergoing stressful procedures.
The immediate goal of the study is to identify and measure specific markers or systems that impact outcomes after procedural stressors. This will include novel measurements of dynamic physiological and molecular systems’ response to hip replacement surgery, hemodialysis initiation and bone marrow transplantation and the ultimate impact of these systems on outcomes. The long term goal of this study is to identify and assess the systems that most impact the health and well-being of older adults during and after stressful events, and to use a resulting resiliency signature to develop interventions that improve immediate and long term outcomes in older adults undergoing surgical or medical procedures.
A broad network of nearly 30 clinical and research focused collaborators on the Bayview and East Baltimore medical campuses will work together on this effort. Stressor core leaders include Fritz Seiber (Anesthesia), Tariq Shafi, (Nephrology) and Rick Jones (Oncology). Measurement core leaders include Qian-Li Xue (Data Base and Analytical Core), Jennifer Schrack and Michelle Carlson (Physical and Cognitive Measures), Rita Kalyani (Dynamic Physiologic Measures), and Peter Abadir (Molecular Measures).
