Meet the 16 NIA-Funded Centers Tackling Aging Health Issues Across the US

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The US has an aging population, as the number of US adults aged 65 and older is set to increase from 58 million to 82 million by 2050, according to the Census Bureau.  

With aging comes many challenges, including cognitive decline.  

For example, as you age, your mind may take longer to recall names or words. Sometimes certain parts of the brain shrink, affecting memory and overall function.  

That’s one of the reasons that the Demography & Economics of Aging Coordinating Center (DECC) was created by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).  

The DECC is headquarters for 16 centers, including the San Antonio CAPAS Program at UT Health San Antonio, to help advance research on aging and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Let’s meet the centers and how they are working together to help US adults age healthfully. 

About DECC and its Work to Address Aging 

DECC oversees and supports the work of 16 centers across the US, connecting them to fuel innovation, exchange information, and collaborate to create a healthier aging America through expanding the impact of aging research.  

The primary aim of DECC and principal investigators John R. Warren, Catherine A. Fitch, and Gina M. Rumore is to equip scholars with the information support and resources they need to address aging-related challenges. 

They do this by connecting the centers to one another, to the NIA, to other NIA-partners, to policy and change makers, and to the public.  

“Through our work, we aim to grow and broaden the aging research community while advancing NIA’s goals in demography, economics, and interdisciplinary population-based social science,” according to the DECC website. 

Learn more about the goals of the collaboration between the Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging, visit the NIH website.  

Meet the DECC’s Aging Research Centers 

Here are the 16 NIA-funded research centers working to translate information into actionable change.  

• Center on Aging and Population Sciences (CAPS), University of Texas at Austin; Principal Investigator: Debra J. Umberson  

• Center on Biodemography And Population Health (CBPH), University of Southern California; University of California, Los Angeles; Principal Investigators: Eileen M. Crimmins, Jennifer A. Ailshire, Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, and Steve W. Cole 

• Carolina Center for Population Aging and Health (CCPAH), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Principal Investigator: Elizabeth A. Frankenberg 

• Center for Aging Families (CAF), Bowling Green State University; Ohio State University; Purdue University; Principal Investigators: Rin Reczek, Susan L. Brown, Sarah R. Hayford, and Hui Liu 

• Center for Demography of Health and Aging (CDHA), University of Wisconsin-Madison; Principal Investigator: Michal Engelman 

• Center for Healthy Aging Behaviors and Longitudinal Investigations (CHABLIS), University of Chicago; Principal Investigators: David O. Meltzer and Vincent Joseph Hotz 

• Center for Population Health and Aging (CPHA), Duke University; Principal Investigator: Scott M. Lynch 

• Center for Seniors Uniting Nationwide to Support Health, Integrated Care, and Economics (SUNSHINE), University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore; Principal Investigators: Jie Chen, Rozalina G. McCoy, and Stephen B. Thomas 

• Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA); University of Michigan; Principal Investigator: Julie P.W. Bynum 

• Hopkins Economics Of Alzheimer’s Disease & Services (HEADS) Center, Johns Hopkins University; Principal Investigators: Jennifer L. Wolff and Daniel E. Polsky 

• Life Course Center (LCC), University of Minnesota; Principal Investigator: Sarah M. Flood 

• Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (MiCDA), University of Michigan; Principal Investigator: Vicki A. Freedman

• NBER Center For Aging And Health Research, National Bureau of Economic Research; Principal Investigator: David M. Cutler 

• San Antonio Center for AD/ADRD Population Aging and Social Studies (CAPAS), University of Texas Health San Antonio; University of Texas at San Antonio; Principal Investigators: Rebeca Wong and Fernando Riosmena 

• Southern Population Aging Research Center (SPARC), University of Maryland, College Park; University of Alabama at Birmingham; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Principal Investigators: Katrina Walsemann, Christine A. Mair, Mieke B. Thomeer McBride 

• The UC Berkeley Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging (CEDA), University of California, Berkeley; Principal Investigator: William H. Dow 

Addressing Alzheimer’s and Dementia in South Texas   

Alzheimer’s and related dementias continue to ravage communities and families in South Texas, where many Latinos call home.   

There are many societal and background-prevalent factors that contribute to inconsistencies in the Alzheimer’s and dementia care continuum.   

Many of these factors stem from some of the modifiable risk factors included on this list.  

To address some of these inconsistencies, the UT San Antonio launched the San Antonio CAPAS Program, one of the DECC’s 16 centers on aging research.    

Led by Drs. Rebeca Wong and Fernando Riosmena, CAPAS seeks to bring together multidisciplinary groups of experts and research networks in demography, sociology, AD/ADRD epidemiology, neuropsychology, public health issues, and experience conducting longitudinal studies for AD/ADRD research and Latino aging.   

“By combining our strengths, we can address Alzheimer’s disease from every angle — from molecules and biomarkers to families, neighborhoods and communities,” Dr. Wong told UT San Antonio Today.   

For more information on Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, or what researchers are doing to improve health outcomes in aging Latino adults, please visit the CAPAS center website.   

Additional Alzheimer’s resources for patients and caregivers are available in English and Spanish on the Alzheimer’s Association website.   

Editor’s note: This blog post was curated and published by Salud America! with support from the San Antonio Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Population Aging and Social Studies (CAPAS) at UT Health San Antonio, funded by the National Institute on Aging. CAPAS is striving to address issues related to the aging Latino population in South Texas.