Lisa Barry - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This amended proposal is for a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award. The applicant is an epidemiologist and developing investigator at the Yale School of Medicine. Her goal is to become an expert and leader in the epidemiology of aging at the interface of psychosocial epidemiology and functional status. Her approach to achieving this goal is to learn advanced statistical methodology to elucidate the relationship between depression and disability over time in light of the emerging paradigm of disability as dynamic and highly complex. The proposed training and research plans are designed to complement and reinforce one another. The specific training objectives are to (1) acquire expertise in the epidemiology of disability and depression and obtain new skills in primary data collection; (2) develop expertise in the analysis of complex longitudinal data; (3) develop and refine a set of "survival" skills that are critical for a successful career as an independent investigator (e.g., grant writing); and (4) enhance her knowledge base regarding innovative research in aging. A secondary goal is to gain "hands-on" knowledge of the development and implementation of clinical trials research. The proposed research is designed to rigorously evaluate the reciprocal nature of the relationship between depression and disability, operationalized as disability burden and clinically-meaningful subtypes. Additionally, the applicant proposes to systematically determining the mechanisms that underlie the reciprocal relationship between depression and disability, and to evaluate if this relationship differs according to gender. The research will be conducted using data from the Yale PEP (Precipitating Events Project) Study, an ongoing NIA-funded, longitudinal study of 754 initially non-disabled community-living older persons. The conceptual and methodological challenges of using these data to test hypotheses directed at determining if a feedback loop exists between depression and disability over time will reinforce the applicant's formal training. Research that improves our understanding of how depression influences the complex trajectory of disability is highly significant to the field of aging; it will highlight a factor that, if adequately identified and managed, could help to prevent the development and progression of disability. Alternately, improving our understanding of this relationship may help to identify opportunities to prevent the development and progression of depression. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

The goal of this multi-disciplinary project is to develop a simple, robust, generic, and scalable model-based and data-driven Fault Detection, Diagnosis and Prognosis (FDDP) process and the associated detection, inference and predictive analytics that are applicable to a variety of buildings. The research is motivated by the observation that buildings account for more than 40% of US energy consumption. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) constitutes 57% of energy used in commercial and residential buildings, valued at $223B in 2009. About 20% of the energy consumed by HVAC is wasted due to abrupt faults (e.g., stuck dampers), performance degradations (e.g., air filter clogging), poor controls (e.g., biases in set points), and improper commissioning (e.g., poorly balanced parallel chillers). This project will develop FDDP methodologies for HVACs to improve equipment availability, lower energy and operating costs, extend equipment life, and enhance occupants' comfort. The FDDP process will be validated and evaluated by applying it to UConn's Tech Park Building; Duncaster, a life-care retirement community, located in Bloomfield, CT; and potentially to others. The project contributes to the vision of green and sustainable buildings equipped with cyber-physical substrata consisting of HVAC modules, networked sensors providing information on spatial and temporal distribution of occupants, smart building management systems providing situation awareness and decision support to human operators, and improved tenant comfort.

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The U.S. prison population is aging; increasing numbers of older adults are being incarcerated and even more are aging in place. Older (age >50) inmates are the fastest growing segment of the prison population and have the system's highest suicide rates. Pilot study data from 146 older inmates in 3 Connecticut state prisons (56% White, 28% Black, 9% Hispanic, 6% Other; ages 50-83) supporting this application indicate that older inmates are likely to experience depression and suicidal ideation (SI) - each a strong predictor of suicide among those living on the inside and in the community. These data also show that conventional factors associated with increased suicide risk in mixed-age inmate samples, such as time served or single-cell housing, appear less relevant for older inmates. Instead, geriatric considerations indicating diminished physical capacity, including decreased activities of daily living (ADLs) and physical vulnerability or frailty, may assume a far greater importance in identifying older inmates at risk of depression and SI. Furthermore, prison is a unique place to age. Inmates may fear for their safety or have privileges revoked due to facility-wide lockdowns. There are also ADLs specific to prison (prison ADLs or PADLs) including climbing on/off the top bunk and walking to chow. The goal of this research, the Aging Inmates' Suicidal Ideation and Depression (Aging INSIDE) Study, is to determine how physical capacity and unique demands of the prison environment may impact older inmates' likelihood of experiencing depression and SI, focusing on two questions: Are geriatric factors that indicate diminished physical capacity useful for identifying older inmates at increased risk of experiencing depression and SI? Do environmental factors unique to prison affect change in one's physical capabilities over time, ultimately impacting older inmates' likelihood of experiencing depression and SI? Aging INSIDE will answer these questions by using a longitudinal study design and by recruiting a sample of 250 sentenced inmates age >50 from 10 Connecticut state prisons, collecting data at baseline and 12 months from complementary sources (self- and performance-based assessments, medical chart review, offender-based data). In the short term, findings from Aging INSIDE will inform risk assessment and detection of depression and SI in older inmates, a highly understudied and rapidly growing segment of inmates with high suicide rates. In the longer term, knowledge gained will help determine an optimal point of intervention (e.g., onset of PADL disability or frailty) and opportunities for prevention (e.g., accommodations for disability) of still modifiable risk factors among older inmates. By considering the influence of the unique prison environment on older inmates' individual physical capacities, Aging INSIDE pushes the state of suicide-related research in prison towards more individualized risk reduction and prevention. Finally, Aging INSIDE is also innovative as it focuses on older inmates; a vulnerable and largely understudied population concentrated in a challenging setting for conducting research. We have included an ethical consultant to ensure protection of study participants' rights.