Research Education Core

ASCENT: RESEARCH EDUCATION CORE (REC) PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT A lack of trained palliative care scientists is cited as a major impediment to the conduct of quality research focused on the needs of persons living with serious illness and their caregivers. Meeting this need has been challenged by a paucity of funding, training, and community-building opportunities focused on palliative care research. The Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) Consortium will transform the field of palliative care research, generating new knowledge and methods, developing and expanding the future scientific workforce, and improving implementation of findings to enhance the experience of people living with serious illness and their caregivers across the lifespan. The ASCENT Research Education Core (REC) will focus on funding, training, and supporting a new generation of palliative care scientists. Led by a multidisciplinary team with extensive expertise in palliative care research, training, and leadership, the REC will achieve the following aims: 1) Provide dedicated funding for promising earlyand mid-career investigators from varied disciplines, institutions, and regions who are committed to research careers improving care of persons with serious illness with a range of diagnoses, including cancer and AD/ADRD, stages of serious illness, settings of care, and across the lifespan. We will administer an annual national competition and award at least 10 new Research Scholars per year with 2-year career development awards. 2) Provide the advanced training in research methodologies necessary to conduct multidisciplinary, high quality, and ethical palliative care research for persons with serious illness across the lifespan. We will provide Research Scholars with targeted training in research methodology via a novel curriculum comprised of in-person workshops, virtual seminars, and online training. Our Research Scholars will also have access to research consultants spanning the broad range of research methodologies and approaches employed in palliative care research. 3) Create a community of early- and mid-career scientists conducting palliative care research and foster a sense of belonging amongst the cohort. We will develop and facilitate: (a) an annual research meeting to present research, build collaborations, and generate new ideas; (b) career development programming, including leadership training and grant preparation; and (c) networking opportunities. Through funded Research Scholar career development awards, engaged mentorship, research training, career development guidance, and community building initiatives, the REC will achieve the ASCENT consortium goals of advancing innovative, high quality palliative care research and fostering a robust scientific workforce. Project Number: 1U54AG093230-01 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute on Aging (NIA) | Principal Investigator: MELISSA ALDRIDGE | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER, Aurora, CO | Award Amount: $2,335,512 | Activity Code: U54 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZAG1 ZIJ-5 (J1)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/1U54AG09323001