George Kuchel, MD, FRCP, AGSF is the director of the UConn
Center on Aging and chief of geriatric medicine at UConn
Health.
e UConn Center on Aging has joined an elite
club.
e Center, based at UConn Health in Farmington,
recently received a prestigious Claude D. Pepper
Older Americans Independence Center grant.
Only 15 "Pepper Centers" exist nationwide, named
in honor of the late Florida senator. e highly
competitive award and distinction includes a $7
million grant from the National Institute on Aging
(NIA).
"Typically, each Pepper Center supports efforts to
enhance independence in older adults through a
shared theme," says Dr. George Kuchel, the Center's
director, chief of Geriatric Medicine, and Travelers
Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology.
In a recent edition of the UConn Health Pulse
Podcast, Kuchel said that the impact of the award
will extend broadly, promoting aging research across
different disciplines while also training the next
generation of research and clinical leaders.
Among the 27 Institutes and Centers at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), the NIA is now the single
largest research funder at UConn and this award will
build upon this progress.
e UConn Pepper Center is focused on Precision
Gerontology seeking to render clinical interventions
more effective by being more precise and by
targeting biological aging – the shared risk factor for
chronic diseases afflicting many older adults. is
will be accomplished through research expertise in
aging that spans from the laboratory bench to the
clinic and to the community.
To learn more about the UConn Center on Aging
and listen to the podcast about the new Pepper
Center with its leaders Dr. Kuchel and Dr. Richard
Fortinsky, professor and Health Net, Inc. Endowed
Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology, visit
health.uconn.edu/aging.
The UConn Center on Aging
Adding Life to Years
Mary Ann Pelz, 87, performs leg extension exercises observed
by research associate Kylie Baker as part of the STEP-HI hip
fracture study at the UConn Center on Aging at UConn Health
on August 26, 2021.
research.uconn.edu
UConn Research: A strong partner in Connecticut's future.
