For Boston OAIC trainees, the RCDC aims to ensure each trainee achieves a set of core competencies including:        

     •In-depth knowledge of the processes of aging and geriatric syndromes;
     •In-depth knowledge of physical function as it relates to the disablement process;
     •Familiarity with the principles of interdisciplinary research and translational 
      approaches to research in aging across the continuum - from basic through clinical;      
     •A practiced ability to write grants, abstracts and papers, and to present work orally;
     •Familiarity with ethical issues related to both human and nonhuman research;
    •In-depth knowledge of theoretical aspects of translational and interdisciplinary           research related to their major areas of investigation; and                                 
     •Advanced skills in research design, biostatistics, clinical trials design and
       implementation, physical function assessment.

To ensure successful training the following mechanisms are being used:        

     •Guided research overseen by a faculty mentoring team of at least two research
     mentors and one career mentor;
     •Participation in the Boston OAIC seminar, OAIC research meetings and retreats and    
     other relevant and experiential training;
     •Attendance as seminars on human and non-human research;
     •Course work in advanced research methods;
     •Advanced substantive and methodological training in trainees’ major areas of             
     investigation.

Currently, the Center is not accepting applications for new RCDC awards. Please contiue to check back periodically for updates.

Terry Ellis, PhD, PT, NCS is a Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University, College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College in the Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training.  Dr. Ellis is also the Co-Director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation at Boston University where she conducts research, provides clinical consultations and education to healthcare professionals and to persons with neurological disorders.  She teaches examination and treatment of patients with neurological disorders within the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.  In addition, Dr. Ellis directs the APDA National Rehabilitation Resource Center housed at Boston University. Dr. Ellis has a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neurosciences from Boston University School of Medicine.  In addition, she is a board certified specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy. Her research focuses on investigating the impact of exercise and rehabilitation on the progression of disability in individuals with Parkinson disease.  She is the recipient of a K12 Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) career development award where she is investigating the natural history of change in quality of life and physical function in women with Parkinson Disease.  As part of the RCDC in the Pepper Center, she is investigating the effects of an exercise program in reducing fall risk and fall rate in people with Parkinson Disease.  Results of this trial will contribute to the development and implementation of a large, multi-center trial.

Daniel K. White, PT, ScD is a physical therapist and Research Assistant Professor at the College of Health and Rehabilitation Science: Sargent College at Boston University.  His research interests are investigating the reasons for loss in physical function and physical activity in older adults and people with knee osteoarthritis (OS).  In addition to doing research, Dr. White is completing a Masters in Science in Epidemiology at the School of Public Health at Boston University.  He is also involved in teaching, particularly in research concepts at Sargent College.
Dr. White’s RCDC project is to investigate the association of psychological factors with habitual walking in people with knee OA.  He is particularly interested in understanding the role positive affect or optimism has with how much walking people with knee OA perform.     

Lisa Ceglia, MD received her B.A. cum laude from Harvard University in 1993 and her M.D. from New York University School of Medicine in 2001. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the New York University Medical Center-Bellevue in New York, NY in 2004. She completed a 3-year, research track Fellowship in Endocrinology at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA in June 2007. Dr. Ceglia is currently in her last year of the Clinical Nutrition Fellowship at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. She has also joined the staff at the Division of Endocrinology at Tufts Medical Center and is directing the Metabolic Bone Diseases Clinic.        

Dr. Ceglia’s RCDC project is titled “The impact of vitamin D3 on muscle in elderly women.” Falls and fractures are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in our frail, elderly population. One in three persons over the age of 65 in the United States experience a fall each year, and 20-30% will sustain moderate or severe injuries including fractures. The number of women aged 65 or older is expected to nearly double in the U.S. over the next 25 years, making falls and fractures a significant national problem. Vitamin D supplementation has been show to lower the risk of fracture in elderly patients in part through reducing the rate of bone loss.     

Nancy Latham, PhD, PT is a Research Assistant Professor at the Health and Disability Research Institute in the Boston University School of Public Health. Her teaching, research and publications reflect her interest in applying methods from the field of clinical epidemiology, such as observational cohort studies, randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, to geriatric rehabilitation. In 2007 she was awarded a Mary E. Switzer Distinguished Fellowship from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research which explored participation outcomes following rehabilitation. She is currently involved in several research projects that focus on increasing our understanding of how to improve function and participation in people who have a range of disabling conditions. These projects include an NIH funded randomized controlled clinical trial of an exercise intervention to improve function in older adults after hip fracture. In addition, she is continuing her work with the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) project which has developed a survey to capture the experiences of people with mobility impairments during interactions with their health providers and plans.As part of the RCDC in the Pepper Center, she is developing an automated voice recognition system to assess functional status over the phone and will compare these findings with live administration. The long term aim of this work is to develop a module that can be used in a tele-rehabilitation intervention for older adults post-hip fracture.        

Tuhina Neogi, MD is a rheumatologist and conducts clinical epidemiologic research. She is presently completing a doctoral degree in epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. In addition to research, Dr. Neogi is also involved in teaching, particularly of epidemiologic concepts through evidence-based medicine journal clubs and development of new curricula. She also has a clinical practice focused on vasculitis. Dr. Neogi’s research interests include the epidemiology and management of osteoarthritis, the role of bone in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis, mechanisms of osteoarthritis-related pain, risk factors and management of gout, consequences of gout and hyperuricemia, outcome measures in rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis, and management of vasculitis.       

Chenchen Wang, MD, MSC is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Wang is also a research rheumatologist and scientific staff in the Division of Rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. She has served as principal investigator on a number of NIH-funded clinical trials evaluating Tai Chi mind-body therapies/exercise. Her research is concerned with epidemiological and clinical studies of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and their treatment in chronic rheumatic conditions, especially osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and systemic lupus erythematosus.The aim of this pilot is to standardize the Tai Chi mind-body program for osteoarthritis in the elderly. To achieve this, we will use the funding from the Pepper Center to validate the current Tai Chi mind body program among 6 Tai Chi instructors, 2 rheumatologists and 1 exercise physiologist, as well as support from the Arthritis Foundation and patients focus group over 2 years. This effort will provide a robust Tai Chi treatment program, a necessary ingredient for future integrated arthritis management and large-scale studies. The funding will therefore provide a unique opportunity for us in this validation process and also help generate multi-year R01 grant applications to National Institute on Aging or National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at NIH.  

The FARM program at the Boston OAIC identifies potential candidates for RCD trainee awards from diverse disciplines of internal medicine early in their careers and nurture and guide them towards interdisciplinary careers in aging research. These candidates are typically  clinical fellows  or postdoctoral fellows . FARM candidates take part in Boston OAIC research meetings and biannual retreats and conduct interdisciplinary research that is broadly related to the Boston OAIC theme of functional limitations in older Americans and function promoting anabolic therapies.

Jessica Eng, MD, a first year Geriatric Medicine Fellow who has been granted funding by the John A. Hartford Foundation to work with Dr. Rebecca A. Silliman.

Christine Liu, MD, a third year Geriatric Medicine Fellow working with Dr. Fielding who will be joining the faculty in the Department of Medicine, Section of Geriatrics in July 2011.

Devyani Misra, MD, a third year Rheumatology Fellow (also trained in Geriatric Medicine) who is working with Dr. Neogi, a former RCDC trainee

Donato A. Rivas, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow being mentored by Dr. Roger Fielding in the Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.  Dr. Rivas received his PhD from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia where he trained in the internationally recognized lab of Prof. John Hawley after being awarded an Endeavour International Postgraduate Scholarship. His PhD studies included investigations into the effects of genetics, nutrition and exercise on skeletal muscle metabolism, much of which has been presented at international conferences and/or published.

Dr. Rivas’s study is entitled “The effects of intramyocellular lipid accumulation on age-associated skeletal muscle loss”. Sarcopenia, the age-associated loss of skeletal muscle is a strong predictor of frailty, morbidity and mortality. Sarcopenia is characterized by decreases in muscle protein synthesis (MPS). The mechanisms that cause the age-associated reduction in MPS and sarcopenia are not well understood. A characteristic feature of aging muscle is an increase in intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content. We wish to test the hypothesis that the age associated increase in IMCL negatively influences MPS leading to the development of sarcopenia.