Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center

Age-related dysbiosis can lead to metabolic, cardiovascular, neuro-degenerative, and neoplastic diseases. A diverse, well-balanced microbial community promotes health by preserving mucosal integrity, facilitating nutritional metabolism, and supporting anti-inflammatory pathways. We have established the Pepper Center Aging Microbial Genomics & Omics (AMiGO) Core to support pilot and exploratory studies and providing mentorship in microbiome and genomics relevant projects for PESC and REC trainees as well as other junior faculty interested in how metabolic factors, infection, and inflammation affect physical and cognitive function. 

This will involve leveraging microbiology and microbiome investigational capabilities that exist at the University of Michigan. Our long-term goal is to provide a model for how a microbial systems core can operate to serve the needs of aging researchers who want to leverage microbial systems sciences in their ongoing research. To accomplish this, the AMiGO Core will provide support and training in advanced microbial techniques. This will include advanced cultivation techniques, culture independent studies of microbes and microbial communities (16S analysis, genomics, metatranscriptomics, metagenomics and metabolomics), assistance with data analysis and animal study support.

Core Director: Vince Young, MD, PhD
Core Co-Director: Evan Snitkin, PhD

The Core Facility for Aged Rodents (CFAR) has been a major feature of the U-M Pepper Center since its inception in 1989. CFAR serves the needs of Pepper Center investigators through three specific aims:

• Provide advice to all OAIC investigators, from student through faculty levels, in the use of rodents for research into the biology of aging and its role in late life disease.
• Support specialized colonies of mice particularly well suited for research on the biology of aging and its relationship to late-life disease. These include genetically heterogeneous mice of the UM-HET3 stock, calorically restricted UM-HET3 mice mice of the long-lived Snell dwarf (dw/dw) stock, carrying the Pit1 dw mutation. Mice from these colonies will be provided to faculty members working on Pilot Studies Exploratory Core (PESC) and Research Career Development Core (RCDC) research projects, as well as to Geriatrics Center faculty members who wish to conduct pilot studies on mouse aging supported by other sources of NIA funds.
• Provide funds to support the development of new animal models for specific purposes.

Core Director: Richard Miller, MD, PhD
Core Co-Director: Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD

The primary goal of the Design, Data, and Biostatistics Core (DDBC) is to provide methodological, data management, and analytical support to U-M Pepper Center affiliated investigators. In collaboration with other U-M Pepper Center Cores, DDBC improves the quality of U-M Pepper Center research studies, helps foster development of early career investigators, and enhances quality of research on late-life processes. Services provided by DDBC faculty and staff include: assisting and offering advice to U-M Pepper Center investigators in methodological design, and analytical tasks in conducting research projects; offering training and mentoring for U-M Pepper Center investigators; facilitating the access of U-M Pepper Center investigators to secondary survey and administrative research data sets used for observational population research. The DDBC also undertakes a limited number of internal efforts/projects to identify in existing literature or develop novel methodological approaches, and implement and disseminate them as software tools.

Core Director: Donglin Zeng, PhD
Core Co-Director: Julie Bynum, MD, MPH

A well-defined and effective Leadership/Administrative Core that oversees and supports the activities of the Claude D. Pepper OAIC is established at the University of Michigan Geriatrics Center. The community advisory committee coordinates and oversees all aspects of the OAIC.

Community Advisory Board Members

• Faye Askew-King
• Morgan Edwards
• Walid Gammouh
• Edna Jackson-Gray, PhD
• Pat Lunden
• Fran Weinstein

Core Leaders:

• Raymond Yung, MB, ChB
• Lona Mody, MD, MSc

The goal of the Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core is to provide support for studies that will develop and test new research ideas of high relevance to the Center's overall theme, which is to improve understanding of how metabolic factors and inflammation interact with age-related diseases and comorbidities to determine key health outcomes related to mobility and functional status. To achieve this goal, the PESC will fund pilot research studies over a wide range of disciplines, ranging from basic genetics and physiology through behavioral and health services research.

Core Director: Lona Mody, MD, MSc
Core Co-Director: Mary Janevic, PhD, MPH

The Recruitment, Retention, and Community Engagement Core (RRCEC) provides training, consultation, and mentoring to UM Pepper Center researchers on issues related to: Sources of study participants from registries, community-based recruitment, and electronic health records and evaluating the potential limitations in these approaches; Establishing efficient study design and recruitment and retention approaches tailored to study-targeted research populations through the Feedback Studio; Compliance with NIH and institutional policies regarding human research including IRBs, clinical trial registration, accessing EHRs, and other processes necessary for clinical research. Priorities include supporting early career investigators new to aging research, translating basic research discoveries into human studies, and advancing high-impact clinical trials that promise to maintain or improve physical and cognitive function in older adults..

Core Director: Mary Janevic, PhD, MPH
Core Co-Director: Kenneth Langa, MD, PhD
Core Co-Director: Raymond Yung, MB, ChB

The Research Education Core (REC), a component of the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC), is funded by the National Institute on Aging. The primary goal of the REC is to recruit, select, support, mentor, and train junior faculty to become independent investigators in aging-related research and academic leaders in geriatrics and gerontology within their respective disciplines.

The REC focuses on stimulating the translation between basic and clinical research across the spectrum of its training activities, including the annual research education core retreat. To this end, it serves a critical function in supporting the overall OAIC focus, by training the next generation of investigators whose research will lead to an improved understanding of the predictors and modulators of the aging phenotype.

Core Director: Neil Alexander, MD, MS
Core Co-Director: Lillian Min, MD, MSHS
Core Co-Director: Carrie A. Karvonen-Gutierrez, PhD, MPH