Program Offerings
The Huffington Center on Aging collaborates with other departments within Baylor College of Medicine as well as other institutions throughout Texas to provide education and training for research trainees, health professions students and current healthcare professionals in geriatrics and gerontology. The diverse education and training opportunities organized by the HCOA fall into four broad areas: Basic Science Education and Training, Clinical Education and Training, Continuing Education and Interinstitutional Geriatrics Initiatives, in addition to our Geriatrics Fellowship Program.
Currently, the Huffington Center on Aging administers a NIA Cell and Molecular Biology of Aging Training grant, which supports the training of five predoctoral and five postdoctoral trainees. Fifteen Baylor College of Medicine faculty members involved in aging-related research participate as mentors in this training program.
The purpose of the grant is to provide education and research experience in the field of aging at the molecular and cellular level. Trainees become well versed in the background studies and theories of aging, enabling them to identify novel approaches to important questions in the field of aging.
The HCOA also sponsors the weekly Biology of Aging Seminar for researchers in all stages of their careers. Local and visiting scientists present their original research findings on a wide variety of topics designed to increase participants' understanding of basic aging processes as well as applications of basic science knowledge to the major diseases of later life.
The John A. Hartford Foundation designated the Huffington Center on Aging as a "Center of Excellence in Geriatrics." The mission of our Center of Excellence in Geriatrics is to train physicians to become academic geriatricians who will provide service, training and research to meet the needs of older people. As a Center of Excellence, HCOA is committed to recruiting and training geriatric fellows as either clinical educators or investigators. Trainees will be selected from a variety of medical disciplines, including medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology and rehabilitative medicine.
The Geriatrics in Primary Care Residency Training Initiative, coordinated by HCOA, is one of seven sites in the country funded by the JAHF to implement strategies for enhancing the teaching and practice of geriatrics within residency training programs in primary care. This three-year grant was awarded jointly to the HCOA and the Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine for the period 1995-1997. Professor emeritus Robert J. Luchi, M.D., is the principal investigator. The other medical schools receiving this award were UCLA, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Rochester. This effort initiated instructional and clinical opportunities in geriatrics for hundreds of Baylor medical residents and has introduced a Key Clinical Faculty program to enhance the knowledge base and clinical skills of primary care faculty. HCOA has made initiatives begun under this grant permanent in its educational programs for residents and students.
The Curtis and Doris K. Hankamer Foundation has provided generous support for clinical and research fellowships in geriatrics since 1990. Many fellows have had the opportunity to explore research projects related to cell aging, a value history instrument, characterization of SDI1, a gene related to senescence in human cells, exercise responses in elderly patients with CHF, gene defects that cause unlimited growth in cancer cell and the examination of the genes related to the muscular atrophy of aging. A recent award from the foundation will enable five new fellows to gain valuable experiences in geriatrics.
The goal of the Student Training in Aging Research program is to increase the number of students committed to academic careers in geriatrics and gerontology. Medical students are recruited during their first and second years of medical school. Graduate students are targeted their first year to do an aging-related research project. The process involves selecting a mentor who agrees to work with the STAR students and by submitting a written application to HCOA. The Texas Geriatric Interest Foundation is an organization for medical students wanting to learn more about aging. The primary goals are education and service. Monthly meetings, seminars, field trips, pre-clerkship preceptorships and community service projects give members personal experiences in geriatrics.
Numerous continuing education programs for various healthcare professionals are offered through the Huffington Center on Aging. The monthly Geriatrics Grand Rounds provide continuing education in clinical geriatrics and gerontology to a multidisciplinary audience of faculty and staff. The monthly conference utilizes case presentations and topic-oriented discussions to present a comprehensive approach to a clinical disorder or issue important to effective care of older people.
The Distinguished Visiting Professor in Geriatrics and Gerontology program supported by the Isla Carroll Turner Friendship Trust benefits a wide variety of health professional and health professions students. Throughout the year, distinguished scholars from leading medical institutions visit the Huffington Center on Aging and exchange ideas with HCOA faculty as well as make presentations on current issues in aging. By virtue of the increased practice knowledge and skills gained through this program, health professionals are better able to serve the older adults in Texas.
Section of Geriatrics faculty also present translational research on a scheduled basis in association with the weekly HCOA Biology of Aging Series.
Comprehensive Board Review in Hematology and Medical Oncology: 5-day comprehensive review of current standards and practices in the management of patients with blood disorders and malignancy. The course is designed to enable the participant to effectively prepare for the American Board of Internal Medicine certification and recertification examinations in Hematology and Medical Oncology. Advances in clinical pharmacology, molecular genetics and risk assessment, and radiation oncology are included.
As one of 45 former geriatric education centers in the country, the Texas Consortium Geriatric Education Center was established in October 1985 and located at the Huffington Center on Aging. The consortium comprised nine academic institutions led by Dr. Robert Roush, who still serves as director of the TCGEC. In 2015, when formal federal funding ceased for the national network of geriatric education centers, the TCGEC was renamed the Texas Consortium for Geriatrics Education and Care. Its mission is still the same: offer professional development opportunities for healthcare professionals to increase their capability to render high quality age-appropriate care to older people.
Original members of the consortium who collaborated with Baylor College of Medicine are University of North Texas Health Science Center, UT-Pan American University, Texas Southern University, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, South Texas College, Prairie View A&M University School of Nursing, and Texas Woman's University. The TCGEC sponsored annual Professional Development Institutes and other programs that reached more than 75,000 health professionals. We continue to offer free continuing education via our Distance Learning Menu found on the TCGEC web page.