There are a number of projects in progress which have a direct geriatric focus as well as many others having implications for geriatric medicine. Faculty and students at all levels are involved in these research activities. Undergraduate assistants are integrated with the research teams of faculty, fellows and residents. Undergraduate involvement in research is usually an extra-curricular or summertime activity.
Students learn research skills and gain an appreciation for academic rigor.
Research faculty become career role models for students who might otherwise not have an opportunity to work with faculty in situations other than the classroom or in clinical settings. Currently, a study related to aged based postural sway is being conducted by faculty in the Department of Family Medicine and faculty in the Department of Environmental Health with Dr. Arvind Modawal as the principal investigator. The project entitled Age-based Normative Values of Bodily Postural Sway and Its Relationship to Functional Measures in Community Dwelling Elderly. To define age-based normal values of bodily postural sway in community dwelling elderly as sway increases with age. Sway may have an important role in falls and can help in fall-risk assessment.