Fortunately, many of these environmental conditions already exist. We have also been very fortunate to serve as the coordinating center for an NIA-sponsored series of Summer Training Courses in Experimental Aging Research, now in its 9th year, directed by Rich Miller. In the spirit of providing an environment conducive to innovative research on aging, I want to make the IoG a place where people can come together to share experiences and ideas relevant to gerontological research and from which new research collaborations will emerge. This will involve venues ranging from seminars to group lunches to workshops. Expansion of our membership by including additional University of Michigan faculty, as well as bringing in new faculty from the outside, will be important for bringing new ideas and insights to our activities.
Gerontology is an inherently interdisciplinary field.
An Institute the size of ours is not large enough to cover all aspects of the field, but even with the recent emphasis on biogerontology, I feel that it would be unwise to strictly limit our scope. The key will be to make links and to reach out in areas that are complementary to our fundamental mission. During these initial months at the IoG my attention has been concentrated on reconstituting the office staff and dealing with operational issues. I look forward to the next phase, during which program and research will be the main areas of focus. My goal is to maintain the IoG as one of the pre-eminent gerontological research institutes in the country and to serve the needs of our aging population by providing links between fundamental research and its application.