The UF Institute on Aging has received $15 million from the National Institutes of Health to construct a 40,000-square-foot complex for clinical and translational research. Additionally, plans are under way by the UF Health Science Center to expand the building by 80,000 square feet to create an academic home for clinical and translational research. This Clinical and Translational Research Building will house the headquarters for the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the UF Clinical Research Center, faculty in biostatistics, epidemiology and health services research, and clinical research programs in areas such as diabetes and muscular dystrophy.

Marco Pahor, MD

The Institute on Aging facility will bring together scientists from a range of scientific disciplines and enhance how aging research is carried out on the campus.“This is a unique opportunity to have basic science, clinical, epidemiology and health services researchers working under the same roof on a common goal — improving the health and independence of older adults,” said Marco Pahor, MD, principal investigator of the grant and director of the UF Institute on Aging.

The one-stop facility will make it easier for mobility-restricted older adults to take part in clinical trials, and strengthen connections among existing UF research centers, including the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the newly established Cognitive Aging and Memory Clinical Translational Research Program.

The new building is part of UF’s commitment to develop multidisciplinary research programs and facilities to help address the needs of the Florida’s aging population. It will provide a home on the UF Health Science Center campus for Institute on Aging researchers who are scattered across 11 locations throughout UF and around the state.