Stanford Medicine Center for Longevity and Healthy Aging Research Education Core

REVISED PROJECT SUMMARY—RESEARCH EDUCATION CORE The goal of the Stanford Medicine Center for Longevity and Healthy Aging is to enhance the research workforce by training promising scientists for sustained careers in research on longevity and aging. Our REC will provide training, mentoring, and support our pilot awardees in conducting translational research on aging that integrates biological, social, behavioral, and cultural considerations using various innovative techniques (e.g., biomedical data science, digital health, precision medicine, virtual reality/simulation-based interventions, qualitative research, mixed-methods research, and implementation science). We will fund three 12-month mentored pilot awards per year, designed and implemented with the guidance of committed and skilled research mentors. Each pilot awardee will choose a primary mentor (from their home organization) and a secondary mentor from any of our member organizations. We will provide ongoing mentoring and support to the pilot awardees after the funding period, including technical assistance in research grant writing toward independent NIH funding so that they gain much of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to transition into viable research careers, including conduct of transdisciplinary aging research, authoring manuscripts, competing for external funding, developing mentoring and team building strategies, and how to design and implement their career development plans. Our RCMAR Scientists will learn in an environment that emphasizes teamwork and teaches that the most innovative research is a product of team science that bridges all disciplinary areas spanning the aging research landscape. Our specific aims are: 1: Provide pilot awards to early career researchers (RCMAR Scientists) from the Stanford Medicine Center for Longevity and Healthy Aging Consortium to conduct transdisciplinary collaborative, biobehavioral and socio- cultural longevity and healthy aging research. 2: Mentor and support junior investigators in conducting clinical and translational research with aging populations. 3.Provide robust research training (in longevity and healthy aging), professional, and leadership development opportunities to junior investigators both during and after the pilot funding. Specific Aim 4: Build the Stanford Medicine Center for Longevity and Healthy Aging into a research leadership pipeline by mentoring junior scientists to assume leadership roles in the future.