Image: iStock
Image: iStock
“Aging is the new frontier, and most of our discoveries are brand new and exciting.”
So says Lewis Lipsitz, director of the Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) at Hebrew SeniorLife, a Harvard Medical School affiliate which is celebrating 50 years of achievement this fall with a scientific symposium at HMS that’s expected to draw hundreds of participants from around the world.
“Baby Boomers are experiencing longevity on a scale that no other generation has experienced in the history of man,” said Lipsitz, who is also HMS professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Improving the experience of aging requires examining many syndromes that have been neglected by medical researchers in the past, including falls, musculoskeletal diseases and cognitive decline.”
The Institute for Aging Research is unique as a research facility because it is embedded in an organization that takes care of thousands of older adults who suffer from conditions that its researchers study.
As an integral part of the Hebrew SeniorLife system for 50 years, IFAR research is behind the care given to Hebrew SeniorLife residents and patients, and Hebrew SeniorLife is behind the independent research conducted at the institute.
As the senior population in the U.S. is expected to grow steadily toward a projected 69 million by 2030, such collaboration becomes more important every year.
Productive History
Today’s IFAR began with a social research study in 1965 that examined whether the hundreds of seniors on the long-term care waiting list at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged needed nursing-home-level care.
The study showed that with support, older adults could continue to live independently and avoid moving to institutions. This study helped launch the senior congregate living movement that is still going strong today.
Historically, the U.S. government’s attention to health and aging can be traced at least as far back as the 1940s, with the establishment of a Unit on Aging within the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Division of Chemotherapy.
It wasn’t until 1974, however, that the National Institute on Aging (NIA) was established to lead the federal government in conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people.
As a top recipient of NIA grants, the Institute for Aging Research shares in the NIA’s goal “to understand the nature of aging and the aging process, and diseases and conditions associated with growing older, in order to extend the healthy, active years of life.”
Under Lipsitz’s guidance, IFAR added a medical research program in 1980, and today the institute is considered a leader in the field of aging research. IFAR scientists routinely challenge assumptions about aging and replace them with new, evidence-based realities founded on the results of rigorous scientific enquiry.
Geriatric medicine continues to offer an exceptionally gratifying area of research, Lipsitz says. Researchers at IFAR have debunked many myths about aging. They’ve discovered evidence that cognitive decline is not inevitable. Both lifestyle decisions and genes influence how an individual ages. Slowed gait and falls are not a normal part of aging but actually are the result of abnormal blood pressure regulation, the dynamics of postural sway and neurological disorders, among other factors that are becoming apparent with continued research.
Future Learning
Looking forward to the next 50 years, two key areas of research offer great potential to improve the quality of life and longevity of seniors—genetics and engineering Lipsitz says. The Institute for Aging Research is poised to address both.
Personalized medicine is particularly important. IFAR researchers are interested in understanding more about how an individual’s genetic composition interacts with certain medications. Discoveries such as this would help more physicians tailor more precise treatments based on an individual’s genetic makeup.
On the engineering front, engineers have effective new technologies but often lack an application for them. At the same time, IFAR researchers know a great deal about the problems older adults confront but want to know more about what kinds of technologies might be available to help mitigate those issues.
“I firmly believe that engineers, physicians and researchers need to work together,” says Lipsitz. “The genetics revolution, along with the convergence of engineering and medicine, will enhance our research capabilities in the coming decades. While I can only speculate what will happen in the next 50 years of aging research, I can say with certainty that older adults will be living better and longer than ever before.”
IFAR staff and faculty will mark the 50th anniversary of the Institute for Aging Research with a scientific symposium on Oct. 2, 2015, at Harvard Medical School’s Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur in the main floor amphitheater.
The daylong academic event will recognize and honor IFAR’s founders and will feature special lectures given by key figures in IFAR’s history.
More than 150 individuals from institutions from around the world are expected to attend, including physicians and PhDs, as well as representatives from the fields of nursing and physical therapy, who will have the opportunity to learn from each other to advance collaborative research.
To learn more about the speakers and the program click here.
