|
University of Minnesota faculty have the opportunity to
pursue research and study in aging through the
Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging Studies. In 1999, the Chair
was created by the CoA with support from the University of
Minnesota Graduate School and the generosity of David and
Elizabeth Fesler. This endowed chair funds researchers and
scholars who wish to obtain up to a year’s release time or
other support to pursue an aging related project.
Current and Past Recipients of the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging
Studies:
|
Walter Low, PhD
2009-2010 |
Walter Low, PhD is is the 2009-2010 Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging
Studies. Dr. Low
is a professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Neurosurgery,
and also serves as the Director of the Research Laboratories in the Department of Neurosurgery.
The Fesler Lampert-Chair is the latest in a long line of awards
that Dr. Low has received. Other honors include an Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, and a University of California Alumni Scholar Award.
He is a founding member of the American Society for Neural Transplantation (ASNT), and served as President-Elect for the society from 2005-2006. He currently serves as a member of the Clinical Practice Committee for the ASNT.
Dr. Low's research is focused on the use of stem cells for the treatment of neurological disorders. Research in the area of cell therapy involves the use of neural transplants to repair neural connections in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.
|
|
Anne Murray, MD, MSc
2008-2009 |
Anne Murray is a geriatrician and epidemiologist at Hennepin County Medical Center,
an Associate Professor of Medicine, and has an adjunct
appointment in the Department of Neurology at the University of
Minnesota. She is a dementia care specialist
within her primary care geriatrics practice. She is an
investigator for the Chronic Disease Research Group and NIDDK-sponsored United States Renal Data Systems (USRDS),
both at HCMC. Dr. Murray has
been conducting research in the epidemiology of delirium
and dementia since she was a geriatric fellow at
Harvard University. Her current research focus is cognitive
impairment in renal disease. She is also the Midwest Primary Investigator
for the ACCORD MIND (Action
to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes-Memory in
Diabetes)
sub-study,
measuring cognitive function and brain pathology with
MRIs in a 7-year placebo-controlled clinical trial of
aggressive treatment of diabetes, HTN, and lipids in
type II diabetics. Dr. Murray is the 2008-9 Fesler-
Lampert Chair in Aging Studies. |
|
Edgar Arriaga, PhD
2007-2008 |
Edgar Arriaga, PhD is the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging
Studies for the 2007-2008 academic year. “In the last
nine years, fruitful multidisciplinary interactions
within and outside the University have been key to the
pursuit of my goals. Maintaining these interactions and
staying active within the group of Scientists in Aging
Research (SAR) requires resources and a directed focus.”
Arriaga intends that this will act as a catalyst to
development of analytical techniques to investigate
molecular changes in aging, to help revitalize
activities conducted through the SAR group and to
participate more actively in the mission of the
University of Minnesota Center on Aging. Edgar’s
research program will characterize changes within the
mitochondria that are associated with aging, develop and
use analytical techniques that make these
characterizations possible and promote among Ph.D.
students, other personnel, and colleagues an
understanding of the causes and particular social
implications of the aging process. |
|
Christine Mueller, PhD
2006-2007 |
The Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging Studies for 2006-07,
Christine Mueller, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been studying
nursing home culture change. As Dr. Mueller states,
“defining nursing home culture change isn’t simple. It
begins with the belief that nursing home care in this
country is unacceptable. It calls to question the term
“nursing home” in that it doesn’t provide people with a
sense of home and there are very few professional nurses
that work in nursing homes.” Nursing home culture change
is about transforming nursing homes from an acute care
medical model that functions according to staff-directed
schedules and routines to a consumer or resident
directed model that functions according to the
preferences and routines of the residents. Nursing home
culture change challenges the roles and functions of
nursing home staff, calls for changes in the physical
environment and structure of the organization, and
requires drastic changes in leadership practices. |
Three
University of Minnesota professors shared the 2005-2006
Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging Studies. To strengthen the
University’s aging curriculum, Professors Phyllis Moen,
Michael Davern, and Rosalie Kane created new course
offerings in the sociology of aging, demographics of aging,
and ethics of aging.
From left to right - Professor Rosalie Kane, PhD, B.J.
Fesler,
Professor Phyllis Moen, PhD, Professor Michael Davern, PhD
|
Diane Treat-Jacobson, PhD, RN
2004-2005 |
Diane Treat-Jacobson, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor
of Nursing, the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging
Studies for the 2004-2005 academic year, designed and organized a
multicenter trial of an innovative exercise
intervention to promote functioning and prevent
further decline in persons suffering from the most
extreme form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD),
critical limb ischemia (CLI). PAD is a chronic
condition that results from narrowing of the vessels
that supply oxygen-rich blood to the legs, abdomen,
pelvis, arms, or neck. The disease causes extreme
pain during such activities like walking.
Treat-Jacobson also addressed the need within and
beyond the University Academic Health Center (AHC)
to provide professionals in training and in the
field with more skills and knowledge about exercise,
mobility, and PAD, particularly in the elderly. With
her colleagues, she developed a series of
talks and educational materials, which were piloted in Fall 2005 in the School of Nursing and
then made available to colleagues in the AHC and
professionals via the Minnesota Area Geriatric
Education Center program.
|
|
Deborah A. Ferrington, PhD, Assistant Professor in the
Department of Ophthalmology in the University of
Minnesota Medical School was awarded the Fesler-Lampert
Chair in Aging Studies for the 2003-2004 academic year.
Dr. Ferrington’s research focus has
been on defining the cellular mechanisms of age-related
macular degeneration. She utilized the award to develop
advanced analytical techniques to inform her current
research efforts. Age-related macular degeneration is
the leading cause of blindness among the elderly in the
U.S., and there is currently no preventive treatment nor
is there a cure. In addition to her clinical research,
Dr. Ferrington continues to serve as a mentor to the
next generation of research scientists with an interest
in geriatrics. During her year as Fesler-Lampert Chair
in Aging Studies, she organized a Journal Club to
enhance collaborative research and foster greater
communication among aging researchers and future
scientists. Dr. Ferrington was also successful in
obtaining further funding for her research. The
proposal entitled "The Subproteome in Age-Related
Macular Degeneration" was funded for five years
by the National Institute of Aging. The Principal
Investigator and Co-Investigator of the grant are Drs.
Timothy Olsen and Deborah Ferrington, respectively, from
the Department of Ophthalmology. Their research
integrates clinical analysis of donor eyes (Olsen) and
proteomic analysis of retinal proteins (Ferrington).
Proteomics is a powerful new approach to study protein
properties (ex., expression levels or protein
modifications) and identify specific proteins from a
complex mixture of proteins. Dr. Ferrington expressed
her gratitude for the time and funding available as the
Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging Studies that enabled her
to secure this important research grant. |
Deborah Ferrington, PhD
2003-2004 |
|
Richard DiFabio, PhD
2002-2003 |
Richard DiFabio, PhD,
conducted a project on "The Connection Between Eyesight
and Falls in Elderly" during his year as Fesler Lampert
Chair in Aging Studies (2002-2003). The injuries
associated with tripping, slipping, and falling are
serious problems for older persons living in the
community. For the elderly with just one non-injurious
fall, the risk of long-term admission to a nursing home
is three times greater than for elders with no fall
history. This Chair helped support the development
of cutting edge research to study how older persons
avoid tripping hazards in their environment.
His work compared eye movement strategies of elderly
persons who have a history of falling with those who
have not fallen to help identify how visual
fixation of objects on the floor influence fall risk and
to eventually develop interventions that will improve
"visual attention" and "visual memory."
|
The principal activity of
Dr. Hepburn’s Fesler-Lampert year involved laying the
groundwork for an expanded training approach designed to
assist individuals and families to deal with chronic
illnesses in aging. His interdisciplinary research group
successfully demonstrated that by providing family
caregivers with a multi-session program that helped them
develop their knowledge, skills, and a "clinical"
attitude regarding dementing illness, adverse impacts of
care giving could typically be reduced. Dr. Hepburn also
conducted a series of dinner colloquia on topics broadly
related to thinking about and creating programs to
strengthen self- or family-management of chronic
illnesses. Support from the Fesler-Lampert chair enabled
him to broaden alliances with community organizations
and providers involved in chronic disease management.
The year also enabled him to read far afield from
dementia and to consider chronic disease management much
more broadly.
Two grant applications to the Alzheimer’s Association
and the National Institute for Nursing Research resulted
from the year's activities, with funding for a
3-year project from the Alzheimer’s application. |
Ken Hepburn, PhD
2001-2002 |
|
LaDora Thompson PhD, PT
2000-2001 |
LaDora Thompson, PhD, PT, Associate Professor,
was the first recipient of the Fesler-Lampert Chair in
Aging Studies. LaDora has been with the University since
1993 focusing on aging and geriatric rehabilitation. She
used her role as chair to solidify her research in
skeletal muscle aging, facilitate a NIA Program Project
submission and to champion an effort to improve
the knowledge of the future clinicians and scientists
who will be leaders in the 21st century. Some of her
specific aims were to complete the studies outlined in
the NIH-funded RO3 research grant “Age and Muscle
Strength-The Role of Myosin,” develop a seminar series
with the Basic Science and Research on Aging group, and
to coordinate and submit a NIA Program Project. |
|
