UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, November 9, 2020, Grant Announcement.
$2.9 million National Institute on Aging grant to USC's Eileen Crimmins supports collaboration of large studies in US, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to answer questions about how life circumstances affect gene expression and health.
A new three-nation project will examine how social, economic, psychological, environmental and behavioral circumstances in childhood influence gene expression and affect health and aging later in life.
The cooperation brings together large longitudinal studies in the US, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This unique international collaboration will examine social, economic, health and epigenetic data from the three national studies to find out how adversity, trauma and other factors impact the epigenome - how genes turn "on" or "off" - and how these changes affect health and aging, said University Professor Eileen Crimmins, holder of the AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Previous epigenetics research indicates that stressors, such as hunger, neglect and violence, in childhood can result in epigenome changes that persist for decades.
"Multimorbidity, frailty, and disability remain a significant challenge for the individual, families, governments, and policymakers," Kenny said. "This will provide us with new approaches for prevention, and possibly treatment."
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