BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application

Oklahoma City Va Medical Center, Oklahoma City OK

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/NARRATIVE The broad focus of Dr. Miller’s lab is to translate basic biology of aging into treatments to increase human healthspan. Dr. Miller focuses on proteostatic mechanisms to increase stress resistance to slow aging and the onset of chronic disease. These studies focus primarily on skeletal muscle to minimize age-associated loss of muscle function (sarcopenia). These studies seek to preserve muscle function during aging by slowing the insidious loss over time as well as aiding recovery after acute periods of rapid muscle loss such as during hospitalization. The Veteran population is older than the general population and older Veterans have a higher burden of comorbid chronic diseases compared to the general population, resulting in more frequent inpatient hospitalizations. A consequence of frequent and recurring hospitalizations is the acceleration of age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. The combined effect of sarcopenia and hospitalization exacerbates muscle dysfunction since older Veterans do not adequately recover from bedrest, placing them on an accelerated trajectory toward loss of independence. Dr. Miller has two Merit awards that focus on disuse atrophy and periods after disuse to design interventions that aid in the recovery of muscle mass and function in older individuals. One Merit focuses on key findings from the Miller lab that mTOR activity is high in aged muscle and may lead to a loss of proteostatic maintenance because of high rates of protein synthesis. The second Merit examines the role of mitochondrial energetics in facilitating the recovery of muscle after disuse. This second Merit is also part of a Collaborative Merit, led by Dr. Miller, that brought together VA researchers with diverse expertise that seek to develop interventions to improve recovery of muscle function after hospitalization in aged Veterans. These efforts to support Veteran health are supplemented by four NIH R01 grants and a foundation grant (Hevolution) that all focus on maintaining muscle mass with age. This productivity is made possible by the extensive collaborations Dr. Miller has established within the OKC VA, with VA researchers in other states, and other non-VA funded collaborators. Dr. Miller is recognized for his expertise as evident by positions as G.T. Blankenship Chair of Aging Research at OMRF, President of the American Aging Association (AGE), and a Fellow of AGE, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), and the American Physiological Society (APS). Dr. Miller has served on study sections for the VA and NIH (including a standing study section member) and is an Associate Editor for Journal of Gerontology-Series A, and Geroscience, which are two of the highest impact aging journals. Dr. Miller has given over 100 invited lectures, keynotes, and endowed lectures and has been featured on numerous podcasts for the general public. Dr. Miller’s lab has focused on mentoring at all training levels. This mentorship is evidenced by being Co-PI on an institutional training grant (T32), co-developing and co-directing a grant writing “boot camp” for CDA, F, and K applicants that is run annually, achieving success in trainee fellowships and career development awards within the lab, acting in service to numerous career development and training awards outside the lab, and creating a junior faculty mentoring program in the Aging and Metabolism Research Program. Finally, Dr. Miller has served the VA through study sections (national and local), local research committee positions (IACUC and SRS), and through a research-focused “roundtable” at the OKC VA.