Functional Assessment Core (FAC)
Clinical Services:
Functional decline and dependence in older individuals portend poor outcome, and impose a large burden on health care services and costs. Functional promoting anabolic therapies (FPATs) can improve physical function and reduce the burden of disabling functional limitations among older adults. The mission of the Boston OAIC is to develop FPATs (nutritional, physical, pharmacological) for the prevention and treatment of aging-associated functional limitations. Using an integrated translational research approach, the OAIC will foster interdisciplinary research to elucidate the epidemiology of functional limitations and mechanisms of FPAT action, help identify targets for FPAT discovery and biomarkers of FPAT action, and facilitate methods development, outcomes validation, and efficacy trials of leading FPATs.
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Current Studies:
Download a summary of services
Download a clinical request form
Current Studies:
Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Physical Performance (LEPPP)
Lab Director: Thomas Storer, Ph.D.
Mission: The BUMC Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Physical Performance within the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition offers investigators a wide array of assessments in a well-equipped and fully staffed laboratory. The lab currently performs assessments for four research protocols examining the effects of androgens on cardiorespiratory performance, muscle strength and power, and physical functioning in healthy men and women.
The Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (HNRCA)
http://www.hnrc.tufts.edu/
A key partner in the BOSTON OAIC will be the HNRCA. The HNRCA is one of six United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded research centers that study the effects of human nutrition on health. The HNRCA is recognized as the largest institution in the world that expands our understanding of the critical relationship among nutrition, genes, aging, and age-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment and dementia, infectious disease, and cancer. The mission of the HNRCA is to explore the relationship among nutrition, aging, and health by determining the nutrient requirements for optimal functioning and chronic disease prevention in older adults. Current ongoing studies include the assessment of chronic caloric restriction in humans on age-associated biomarkers (Roberts, PI), the assessment of health disparities in ethnic minority populations (Tucker, PI), the lifestyles for independence in elders pilot (LIFE-P) (Fielding, site PI), and the role of dietary antioxidants on immune function (Meydani, PI). The center’s fourteen-story, 207,000-square-foot facility, located on the Tufts University health sciences campus in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, provides a combination of administrative offices and laboratories with state of the art instrumentation to assess nutrient status and body composition. A 25,000-square-foot Metabolic Research Unit contains comfortable residential accommodations for research subjects, a metabolic kitchen, dining room, medical examination rooms, and a medical records library. Twenty-two principle research laboratories focus on the relationship of nutrition to age-related changes in physiologic function including cognition, vision, heart, immunity, bones, and muscle.
The HNRC operates under a cooperative agreement between Tufts University and the USDA, under which the USDA funds core facilities, a portion of senior investigator’s salaries, and some exploratory projects, but specific projects must be funded separately. Since its inception in 1982, the HNRC has become recognized as a world leader in nutrition and aging research. Studies conducted at the HNRC are in the areas of the physiology of aging and sarcopenia, molecular biology, biochemistry, nutritional assessment, vitamin and mineral metabolism. Support services include a biostatistical unit, the MRU, a Nutrition Evaluation Laboratory (core clinical laboratory), and Body Composition Laboratory. The HNRC has core facilities including ultracentrifuges, 3 Beckman gamma counters, 3 beta counters, 4 walk-in freezers, gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer and isotope ratio/mass spectrometer, photographic facilities for develop gels and performing densitometry, and facilities for handling radioactive and biohazardous reagents and waste.
Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory
Director: Roger A. Fielding, PhD
The Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, and Sarcopenia (NEPS) Laboratory has a total of 4,250 ft2 of laboratory and office space with adequate space and facilities for the conduct of controlled human intervention trials as well as basic studies focused on the physiology of aging skeletal muscle. Facilities and equipment are available for the measure of exercise capacity (VO2max, strength, neuromuscular function), isotope infusions, glucose “clamp” procedures, glucose tolerance tests, skeletal muscle biology, and body composition assessment. Included within the 4,250 ft2 of laboratory space is approximately 1,000 ft2 of space for biochemical and histochemical procedures including western blotting, RNA extraction, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry.
The Metabolic Research Unit (MRU)
Includes 12 inpatient rooms, a metabolic kitchen, and outpatient assessment facilities (phlebotomy, physical examinations, etc.). Twenty-four hour nursing support and medical staffing are provided for all human studies. The MRU supports research protocols using volunteers recruited principally from the metropolitan Boston Area. Included in the 25,000 ft2 unit are individual quarters for 14 resident volunteers, a complete metabolic kitchen which services both resident and non-resident studies, dining room, medical examination rooms, medical records library, and recreation areas. The Volunteer Services Department staffs professional recruiters to identify potential human subjects for research studies through various methods such as newspaper and radio advertising, public service announcements, direct mail, tours, and presentations. A registered nurse evaluates all medical history applications for initial qualifications. Admissions staff schedule medical screening and all study admissions. This group coordinates stipend payments to volunteers, maintains a computerized data base which tracks activity and scheduling information and provides traditional medical records services for the MRU. Research nurses and support staff within the Nursing Department are responsible for implementing research protocols. The nurse practitioner obtains medical histories, conducts physical examinations, and provides medical care under the supervision of an HNRC physician. Routine blood work, urinalysis, electrocardiograms and X-ray examinations are incorporated as of the screening process. Physician coverage is in effect 24-hours a day to respond to the medical and psychological needs of the resident volunteer Registered dietitians and support staff in the Nutrition Services Department are responsible for the interpretation, implementation and successful outcome of the dietary component of research protocols. The Metabolic Nutrition Laboratory is designed and equipped to support metabolic research studies requiring precise nutrient control including the weighing of all foods to the nearest gram, selecting a limited range of high quality, nutritious foods and following precise preparation and serving procedures.
Nutrition Evaluation Laboratory
The NEL provides clinical and specialized biochemical analyses for human, animal, epidemiological, and field studies. Licensed by the Federal government and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Clinical Core Unit provides results for over thirty hematology, blood chemistry, and urinalysis procedures. The laboratory adheres to strict quality-control measures by using commercial reference materials and by participating in the College of American Pathologists’ external proficiency survey. The Specialized Chemistries Unit provides approximately 120 protocol-specific laboratory procedures. Quality control of the esoteric procedures is monitored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference Materials or commercially available serum and urine quality-control materials. The Specimen Processing Unit receives, processes, stores, and tracks blood, urine, and fecal samples. A clinical laboratory software package provides infinite storage and specimen archiving, on-line quality-control checking, workload reporting, and test-result transfer from instruments to medical records.
The HNRC operates under a cooperative agreement between Tufts University and the USDA, under which the USDA funds core facilities, a portion of senior investigator’s salaries, and some exploratory projects, but specific projects must be funded separately. Since its inception in 1982, the HNRC has become recognized as a world leader in nutrition and aging research. Studies conducted at the HNRC are in the areas of the physiology of aging and sarcopenia, molecular biology, biochemistry, nutritional assessment, vitamin and mineral metabolism. Support services include a biostatistical unit, the MRU, a Nutrition Evaluation Laboratory (core clinical laboratory), and Body Composition Laboratory. The HNRC has core facilities including ultracentrifuges, 3 Beckman gamma counters, 3 beta counters, 4 walk-in freezers, gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer and isotope ratio/mass spectrometer, photographic facilities for develop gels and performing densitometry, and facilities for handling radioactive and biohazardous reagents and waste.
Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory
Director: Roger A. Fielding, PhD
The Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, and Sarcopenia (NEPS) Laboratory has a total of 4,250 ft2 of laboratory and office space with adequate space and facilities for the conduct of controlled human intervention trials as well as basic studies focused on the physiology of aging skeletal muscle. Facilities and equipment are available for the measure of exercise capacity (VO2max, strength, neuromuscular function), isotope infusions, glucose “clamp” procedures, glucose tolerance tests, skeletal muscle biology, and body composition assessment. Included within the 4,250 ft2 of laboratory space is approximately 1,000 ft2 of space for biochemical and histochemical procedures including western blotting, RNA extraction, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry.
The Metabolic Research Unit (MRU)
Includes 12 inpatient rooms, a metabolic kitchen, and outpatient assessment facilities (phlebotomy, physical examinations, etc.). Twenty-four hour nursing support and medical staffing are provided for all human studies. The MRU supports research protocols using volunteers recruited principally from the metropolitan Boston Area. Included in the 25,000 ft2 unit are individual quarters for 14 resident volunteers, a complete metabolic kitchen which services both resident and non-resident studies, dining room, medical examination rooms, medical records library, and recreation areas. The Volunteer Services Department staffs professional recruiters to identify potential human subjects for research studies through various methods such as newspaper and radio advertising, public service announcements, direct mail, tours, and presentations. A registered nurse evaluates all medical history applications for initial qualifications. Admissions staff schedule medical screening and all study admissions. This group coordinates stipend payments to volunteers, maintains a computerized data base which tracks activity and scheduling information and provides traditional medical records services for the MRU. Research nurses and support staff within the Nursing Department are responsible for implementing research protocols. The nurse practitioner obtains medical histories, conducts physical examinations, and provides medical care under the supervision of an HNRC physician. Routine blood work, urinalysis, electrocardiograms and X-ray examinations are incorporated as of the screening process. Physician coverage is in effect 24-hours a day to respond to the medical and psychological needs of the resident volunteer Registered dietitians and support staff in the Nutrition Services Department are responsible for the interpretation, implementation and successful outcome of the dietary component of research protocols. The Metabolic Nutrition Laboratory is designed and equipped to support metabolic research studies requiring precise nutrient control including the weighing of all foods to the nearest gram, selecting a limited range of high quality, nutritious foods and following precise preparation and serving procedures.
Nutrition Evaluation Laboratory
The NEL provides clinical and specialized biochemical analyses for human, animal, epidemiological, and field studies. Licensed by the Federal government and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Clinical Core Unit provides results for over thirty hematology, blood chemistry, and urinalysis procedures. The laboratory adheres to strict quality-control measures by using commercial reference materials and by participating in the College of American Pathologists’ external proficiency survey. The Specialized Chemistries Unit provides approximately 120 protocol-specific laboratory procedures. Quality control of the esoteric procedures is monitored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference Materials or commercially available serum and urine quality-control materials. The Specimen Processing Unit receives, processes, stores, and tracks blood, urine, and fecal samples. A clinical laboratory software package provides infinite storage and specimen archiving, on-line quality-control checking, workload reporting, and test-result transfer from instruments to medical records.
