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Gerontology, the science of aging, is an increasingly important field of endeavor as the peoples of the United States and the rest of the world age. Developed and developing countries alike are seeing dramatic growth in their elderly populations. The world's 60-and-over population increased by more than 12 million persons in 1995 alone,
reaching a total of 550 million. By the year 2025, 1.2 billion people will be 60 or older. According to the U.S. Census Bureau*, in the industrialized countries of Europe, Asia, and North America, more than 50 countries already have 15% or more of their population 60 years of age or older. Improvements in health care and disease prevention have the potential to create economic benefit to, and to dramatically improve the quality of life of, millions of individuals.
Significant breakthroughs in understanding the basic biological processes that underlie aging and age-related diseases are the best hope we have for achieving genuine prevention or amelioration of age-related debilitation and disease. Many of the world's leading scientists believe that such breakthroughs in understanding are not only possible, but in fact are the likely consequence of the application of modern biological research techniques. The Ellison Medical Foundation Aging Program was established in order to foster such breakthroughs.
The Ellison Medical Foundation Aging Program supports basic biomedical research on aging relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The foundation stimulates basic biomedical research in multiple disciplines
Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
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Structural biology
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Molecular genetics
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Studies with model systems ranging from lower eukaryotes to humans
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Inquiries testing the relevance of simpler models to human aging
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Genetic epidemiology of aging; candidate longevity genes
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Aging in the immune system
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Host defense molecules in aging systems
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Mechanisms of free radical induced cell aging
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Mechanisms of aging in various differentiated cell populations
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Gene/environment and gene/gene interactions
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Integrative physiology
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New approaches to age-modulated disease mechanisms: Alzheimer's disease and others.
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Through various award mechanisms, including the Senior Scholar and New Scholar Award programs, the foundation fosters research by means of grants-in-aid to investigators at universities and laboratories within the United States.
As a part of our activities to foster basic biomedical research on aging and attract talented investigators to the aging research field,
The Ellison Medical Foundation, in cooperation with the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, sponsors a three week course on the Molecular Biology of Aging. See: Summer Courses and Training Awards
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*Global Aging into the 21st Century: U.S. Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base, 1996 July 31, 1998 |
For further information, contact:
Richard L. Sprott, Ph.D.
Executive Director
The Ellison Medical Foundation
4710 Bethesda Avenue
Suite 204
Bethesda, MD 20814-5226
(301) 657-1830 (Phone)
(301) 657-1828 (Fax)
Contact Dr. Sprott
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