Core D: External Network Core

Core D. External Innovative Network Core PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Advancing our current understanding and research in population health and the demographic, social, and economic dimensions of aging requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach. We will continue to develop meaningful work between researchers and institutions through the External Collaborative Network (ECN). Formerly Core C (in the current cycle), the ECN has developed over the past three years as the Population Ecology, Aging, and Health Network (PEcAHN), bringing together researchers from regional and U.S. institutions with life course- and community-focused projects at field sites around the U.S. and around the world. The overarching focus of PEcAHN is to address persistent health disparities faced by low-income, rural, and minority communities. By building a network PEcAHN features annual meetings for researchers across sites to gather and share discoveries, learn new and promising methods from their peers, and to develop collaborative projects across sites. By fostering the sharing of ideas and methods across sites, and through formal analyses in papers and other multi-site collaborations, PEcAHN supports the P30 aim of advancing research in population aging and addressing health disparities. The network also promotes early career researchers, another P30 aim, by supporting their involvement in these meetings and providing opportunities to lead collaborative projects and papers.