Center of Excellence (CoE) in Aging at Yale Awarded John A. Hartford Grant

New Haven, Conn. —The Yale/Hartford Center of Excellence (CoE in Aging has received renewed funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation to increase the amount of research, education, and leadership in aging issues within medical specialties.

The grant has been awarded to the Section of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine continuously since 1998 and has been renewed for another five-year period beginning January 2008.

The objective of the Yale/Hartford Center of Excellence (CoE) in Aging is to increase the quantity and enhance the quality of faculty who are able to teach, conduct research, and provide leadership for aging issues within medical specialties and subspecialties. This interdisciplinary, collaborative approach has guided the Center since its inception in 1998.

To accomplish this objective, the Center has provided research training, support, and mentorship to highly qualified physician investigators conducting age-related research.

Led by Mary Tinetti, M.D., the Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine, and professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine, the Yale CoE has provided direct support to 17 advanced fellows or junior faculty.

“Our ultimate goal is better and more appropriate care of older patients through the education of physicians in geriatric principles by identifying and supporting talented and committed researchers who have the best potential for evolving into leaders in their field,” said Tinetti. “With this strategy, the CoE scholars will influence not only their own direct trainees, but also the entire field through their work and leadership.”

CoE scholars represent a variety of disciplines, including endocrinology, oncology, rheumatology, pulmonary, infectious diseases, and nephrology. The scholars supported by the Yale CoE have generated over $22 million in subsequent grant support.

One such scholar, 2006 Yale CoE graduate Manisha Juthani-Mehta, M.D., assistant professor of medicine/infectious diseases, is in the first year of her faculty appointment at Yale. Juthani-Mehta’s patient-oriented aging research is directed at investigating diagnostic criteria for urinary tract infections in nursing home residents. Hartford-funded work served as preliminary data for several of Juthani-Mehta’s grant submissions, including a National Institute of Aging grant titled “Defining UTI in nursing home residents based on multiple clinical and laboratory findings.”

Other faculty members who have been supported by the CoE in Aging at Yale include:

Daniel Goldstein, M.D. (Cardiology) “immunologic Issues related to success of cardiac transplantation among elderly patients with CHF.”

Joanne Foody, M.D., (Cardiology) “Older Persons Preferences for Preventive Cardiac Treatments.”

Vincent Quagliarello, M.D., (Infectious Diseases) “Nursing Home Acquired Pneumonia as a Multifactorial Geriatric Syndrome.”

Albert Shaw, M.D., (Infectious Diseases) “The role of Presenilin Mutations Associated with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in Lymphocyte Development and Function.”

David van Duin, M.D., (Infectious Diseases) “Toll Like Receptor (TLR) Expression: Correlation with Response to Vaccination in the Elderly.”

Margaret Pisani, M.D., (Pulmonology) “Cognitive Impairment in Older Patients in the MICU.”

Insoo Kang, M.D., (Rheumatology) “The Effects of Aging and Immunosuppression on Viral Specific T cells in the Elderly with Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

Elizabeth Jonas, M.D., (Neuro-Endocrinology) “Insulin Receptors in the Nervous System: a Study on Neuronal Longevity.”

Lisa Leinau, M.D., (Nephrology/Geriatrics) “Interconnected Health Conditions in Older Hemodialysis Patients.”

Recruitment of Scholars for the funding period starting January 2008 began in June 2007.

Founded in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of training, research, and service system innovations that promote the health and independence of America’s older adults. Additional information about the Foundation and its programs is available online at The John A. Hartford Foundation’s website.