U.S. EPA Aging Initiative List Serve October 2011

I. Announcements
II. News, Research, Reports and Presentations
III. New Resources and Opportunities
IV. Building Sustainable Communities
V. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
VI. Intergenerational Activities
VII. Funding Opportunities
VIII. 2011 Calendar of Events
IX. Call for Abstracts

I. Announcements

Gulf Coast Task Force Releases Ecosystem Restoration Strategy For Public Review / Agenda outlines blueprint for reversing decline of Gulf Coast ecosystem

Release date: 10/05/2011

One year ago today, President Obama established the Task Force by executive order, in response to recommendations from a report by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, to continue the Administration’s ongoing commitment to the Gulf region. The group is made up of representatives from the five Gulf States and 11 federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Council on Environmental Quality, Department of the Interior, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy and Domestic Policy Council.

"Even before last year’s oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico endured decades of decline that threatened the environmental and economic health of this region. This strategy is designed to prepare the region for transitioning from a response to the spill into a long-term recovery that supports the vital ecosystem and the people who depend on it," said Administrator Jackson. "The health of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem starts and ends with its people and its communities. The individuals and families who visit the Gulf, who work in the region, who depend on its resources, and especially those who call it home, know its needs and challenges best. They will be integral to creating and executing this long-term strategy."

“The Task Force’s draft strategy identifies fundamental obstacles that have plagued restoration and protection efforts in Louisiana and other states for decades. The report attempts to begin reversing 80 years of mismanagement,” said Garret Graves, Task Force vice-chair and chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana. “It identifies critical issues such as changes in river management, the use of dredged sediment, navigation channel bank stabilization, and the need to expedite the snail’s pace process of implementing water resources projects. History has proven that being reactive on disaster mitigation costs exponentially more. This report is an important first step in moving toward a proactive strategy as recognized through the implementation of the state's coastal master plan. There is much work still left to be done and we look forward to continuing to work with Task Force agencies and our fellow Gulf States to finally stabilize our coast and protect the Gulf communities.”

This preliminary strategy represents the Task Force’s strong commitment to the restoration of the Gulf Coast. The strategy was developed following more than 40 public meetings throughout the Gulf to listen to the concerns of the public. It is available to the public for review and feedback at http://www.epa.gov/gulfcoasttaskforce, until 11:59 p.m. EST October 26, 2011. The Task Force will release the final version in December.

To read the complete press release see: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/bd4379a92ceceeac8525735900400c27/eaf8e8605c2218bb8525792000492256!OpenDocument

Get Ready for Flu Season

Getting the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available each year is always a good idea, and the protection you get from vaccination will last throughout the flu season. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. For information about which viruses this season's vaccine will protect against visit Vaccine Selection for the 2011–2012 Season see: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2011-2012.htm

II. News, Research, Reports and Presentations

AARP Public Policy Institute Issues Reports on Housing

Housing for Older Adults: The Impacts of the Recession

Older homeowners and renters face greater affordability issues, and many low-income households face more unsustainable housing costs after the housing crisis and recession that began in 2007. Disability rates, family structures, foreclosure rates, and the age of homes are other factors that have shifted this past decade, as older households adapt to face new and continuing challenges.

State Housing Profiles

The State Housing Profiles is a comprehensive resource with detailed state-by-state housing data by age, including national rankings and a national data set. Most of the data come from the Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey with 2000 Census data for comparison. State profiles exist for every state (and the District of Columbia) and the data source also includes a national profile for the United States.

Circulating Levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Carotid Atherosclerosis in the Elderly

Lind PM, van Bavel B, Salihovic S, Lind L, 2011 Circulating Levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Carotid Atherosclerosis in the Elderly.Environ Health Perspect doi:10.1289/ehp.1103563

Background and Objectives: Increased circulating levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been associated with myocardial infarction. Since myocardial infarction is an atherosclerotic disease, we investigated, in a cross-sectional study, if levels of POPs are related to atherosclerosis.

Methods: In the population-based Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study (of 1016 participants aged 70) the prevalence of carotid artery plaques was determined by ultrasound. The number of carotid arteries with plaques (0, 1 or 2) was recorded. Also the thickness (IMT) and grey scale (IM-GSM) of the intima-media complex were measured. Twenty-three POPs, including 16 PCBs, five pesticides, one dioxin and one brominated compound (BDE47) were analyzed by high-resolution chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/ HRMS).

Results: Seven of the POPs (PCB congeners 153, 156, 157, 170, 180, 206 and 209) were significantly associated with the number of carotid arteries with plaques even after adjustment for multiple risk factors (gender, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL and LDL-cholesterol, serum triglycerides, smoking, antihypertensive treatment, and statin use, p=0.002-0.0001). Highly chlorinated PCBs (194, 206 and 209) were associated with an echolucent IM-GSM (p<0.0001 after adjustment), while associations between POPs and IMT were modest.

Conclusions: Circulating levels of PCBs were associated with atherosclerotic plaques and echogenicity of the intima-media complex, independently of cardiovascular risk factors, including lipids. This suggests that POPs may be a risk factor myocardial infarction, but associations need to be confirmed in prospective studies.

http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1103563

September 27, 2011 -- Earth Overshoot Day

Humanity is surpassing nature’s budget for the year, and is now operating in overdraft, according to Global Footprint Network calculations for 2011.

Earth Overshoot Day, which this year falls on September 27, helps conceptualize the degree to which we are over-budget in our use of nature. In approximately nine months, we are demanding a level of ecological services – from producing food and raw materials to filtering our carbon dioxide emissions—equivalent to what the planet can provide for all of 2011. From an ecological standpoint, we have effectively spent our annual salary, with a quarter of the year still to go.

“From soaring food prices to the crippling effects of climate change, our economies are now confronting the reality of years of spending beyond our means,” said Global Footprint Network President Dr. Mathis Wackernagel. “If we are to maintain stable societies and good lives, we can no longer sustain a widening budget gap between what nature is able to provide and how much our infrastructure, economies and lifestyles require.”

This year, Earth Overshoot Day comes as the UN is projecting the human population to reach 7 billion sometime in late October. Current resource trends beg the questions: How will we be able to meet the needs of a growing population? Support the increased consumption as millions in emerging economies join the swelling ranks of the middle class? Provide for the 2 billion alive today that lack access to enough resources to meet basic needs?

Global Footprint Network’s preliminary 2011 calculations show we are now using resources at a rate it would take between 1.2 and 1.5 planets to sustainably support. If we continue on the course estimated by moderate United Nations projections for increasing population and consumption, by well before mid-century we will need the capacity of two Earths to keep up with our level of demand.

“Providing good lives for the world’s people is certainly possible – but it will not be possible using the resource-intensive development and growth models we have pursued in the past,” said Global Footprint Network Director of Research and Standards Dr. Juan Carlos Morales. “That means finding new models of progress and prosperity that limit demand on ecological assets. It also means maintaining the resources we have left as an ongoing source of wealth rather than liquidating them for fast cash.”

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/earth_overshoot_day/

HUD Requests Public Comments on the Safe and Healthy Homes Investment Partnership

HUD is requesting feedback from the public for its new tool Safe and Healthy Homes Rating Tool. More information on the tool can be found at their website, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?mode=disppage&id=HHRS

ENVIRONMENTALISM SINCE 1945
by Gary Haq and Alistair Paul
Published by Routledge

Today environmental issues are part of daily life, a feature of the modern world almost everyone now recognizes. Contemporary environmentalism has promoted a way of speaking and thinking about the environment that was not possible or imaginable decades ago. Environmentalism Since 1945 provides a concise introduction to the greening of politics, science and culture in the post-war period. It covers key issues including:

- the birth of the environmental movement
- development of global environmental governance
- climate science and the raise of climate scepticism
- Green New Deal and the call for prosperity without growth
- Greening of mainstream culture and efforts to change attitudes and behaviour
- Challenges the environmental movement will have to address to continue to be a force for change.

Each chapter provides an historical perspective, anchoring topics to real events, influential ideas, and prominent figures. The book is an essential introduction for all those interested in the history of environmentalism.

Dr Gary Haq is a Human Ecologist and Senior Research Associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York

Alistair Paul is a Senior Policy Advisor at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change and former Senior Research Associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute

Greenversations: Blogging at EPA

Garden with your Elders

One of my oldest gardening memories is picking Japanese peapods for my grandfather, a 2nd generation Italian-American who moved the family from Worcester, MA to rural East Brookfield, where he had room to plant massive gardens. Though I did not really enjoy picking peas or watering cucumbers at the time, I now find gardening to be one of my favorite outdoor activities.

As part of the Environmental Careers Program at EPA, I was encouraged to join an “action learning team” along with other new employees. Building on our common interests in gardening, food security, and community-building, we decided to document examples of elder-accessible community gardens, gardening plots thoughtfully designed with elders in mind. Most have raised beds that bring the gardening surface closer to waist height, to allow for easy use. These gardens represent a great opportunity to involve elders in community-building activities, while also providing low-impact exercise and improved access to fresh food.

My team looked for examples of elder-accessible gardens on former Brownfield sites. Can you imagine a blighted or underused parcel of urban land being redeveloped as a garden? How about a garden where elders can enjoy time outdoors in the shade while imparting gardening knowledge and cultural knowledge on younger generations? It is quite a transformative idea!

EPA’s “Urban Agriculture & Local, Sustainable Food Systems” website provides information that empowers both urban and rural gardeners to properly assess and mitigate potential contaminants in their soils. Their mantra is “test your soil first,” especially if you do not know the history of your gardening site.

The Brownfields “Urban Ag” website features my team’s new publication on elder-accessible gardens. Here’s an example from Philadelphia, where gardens have become a place of cultural exchange for a diverse group of elder immigrants. See fact sheet at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/urbanag/pdf/elder_accessible_gardening.pdf

Do you know of other examples where gardens are “growing community” or revitalizing under-used sites? Let us know at aging.info@epa.gov

http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2011/10/03/garden-with-your-elders/

World Loses a Champion of Peace, Democracy and Sustainable Development

On September 26, 2011, Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Laureate, Kenyan and founder of the Green Belt movement, lost her battle with cancer and we lost an environmental and peace champion. Almost seven years ago, she received the Nobel Peace Prize.

When Professor Maathai received the news she had won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was planting a tree in the shadow of Mount Kenya. She said “Wars are fought over resources. If we did a better job of managing our resources sustainably, conflicts over them would be reduced. Protecting the global environment is directly related to securing peace.”

In her acceptance speech she said "Although this prize comes to me, it acknowledges the work of countless individuals and groups across the globe. They work quietly and often without recognition to protect the environment, promote democracy, defend human rights and ensure equality between women and men. By so doing, they plant seeds of peace."

Professor Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and was also the recipient of numerous awards from around the world, including the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. She also received honorary doctorates from Yale University, Ochanomizu University in Japan, and the University of Norway, among others.

She is survived by her son and two daughters, one of whom, Wanjira, works for the Green Belt Movement. She is also survived by an estimated 45 million trees that have been planted around Kenya by the Green Belt Movement, which she founded in 1977. To honor her legacy we should each plant a tree.

President Obama on the Passing of Professor Wangari Maathai

"…The work of the Green Belt Movement stands as a testament to the power of grassroots organizing, proof that one person’s simple idea—that a community should come together to plant trees—can make a difference, first in one village, then in one nation, and now across Africa. Professor Maathai’s tireless efforts earned her not only a Nobel Peace Prize and numerous prestigious awards, but the respect of millions who were inspired by her commitment to conservation, democracy, women’s empowerment, the eradication of poverty, and civic engagement. Professor Maathai further advanced these objectives through her service in the Kenyan government, the African Union, and the United Nations..."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/26/statement-president-passing-wangari-maathai

Alice Walker, Novelist and Poet

"She loved this Earth, our big beautiful mother, and now she has gone back home to her. I imagine the celebration as Mother reclaims (Well done!) her beloved daughter and Wangari’s spirit experiences the blessed relief of honorable return."

For more memories of Wangari Maathai, please see: http://wangari.greenbeltmovement.org/

III. New Resources and Opportunities

Subchronic Pulmonary Pathology, Iron-Overload, and Transcriptional Activity after Libby Amphibole Exposure in Rat Models of Cardiovascular Disease

Shannahan JH, Nyska A, Cesta M, Schladweiler MC, Vallant BD, et al. 2011 Subchronic Pulmonary Pathology, Iron-Overload, and Transcriptional Activity after Libby Amphibole Exposure in Rat Models of Cardiovascular Disease. Environ Health Perspect doi:10.1289/ehp.1103990

Elder-Accessible Gardening: A Community Building Option for Brownfields Redevelopment

A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment. This factsheet provides helpful information to start a community garden on a brownfields site. http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/urbanag/pdf/elder_accessible_gardening.pdf

IV. Building Healthy Communities - Sustainable Communities

Active Aging Depends on Community Design

By Kevin Nelson

My grandfather lived to 97. He was a dynamic orator, frozen-food pioneer, and avid golfer. While he believed that professional success required mastery of a typewriter, he would attribute his long and prosperous life to a good brisk walk each morning. Wherever he lived, on the south side of Chicago or in a suburb on the fringe of the city, he sought out places to live that had ample sidewalks and walking paths to travel on foot to various destinations.

People, like my grandfather, had the desire to walk, run, or ride to keep active, but just as important is the ability to do each of things – that is, whether sidewalks or paths exist to provide safe places for activity. In other words, the infrastructure needs to exist—and be maintained—to give older Americans opportunities to stay active as they age.

Thankfully, there are many programs and national initiatives, such as the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, the National Complete Streets Coalition, among others, that promote walking and biking for all people and in all parts of the country. These organizations provide resources and tools to communities to help them assess the design and layout of their communities to learn whether their sidewalks and streets safe, convenient, and pleasant for all their residents to use.

It is crucial to build and design communities that accommodate a variety of users. Walkable neighborhoods have many environmental and health benefits such as improved air quality and reduction of physical injury and disease. These places can improve residents’ health by giving them opportunities to walk and bike to their destinations instead of driving. Not only does being active improve the health of the walkers and bikers, but the reduced driving reduces air pollution and traffic congestion, which benefits everyone in the community.

A new publication, “Making Healthy Places: Design and Building for Health, Well-being and Sustainability” (2011, Island Press), and website provide research about the connections between public health and community design that includes opportunities for people to stay active as they age. Our neighborhoods need to be designed with all users in mind, and this book provides information that can help communities build places that help seniors and everyone else to stay active.

Although my grandfather is no longer walking with us, he would be pleased to see that there are efforts nationwide to ensure that Americans of all ages have opportunities for that brisk walk each and every day.

About the author: Kevin Nelson, AICP is a Senior Policy Analyst at the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities. He can be reached at nelson.kevin@epa.gov.

http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2011/10/07/active-aging-depends-on-community-design/

V. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

National Take Back Initiative: October 29, 2011 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs. Please check back in mid-September to find convenient collection locations in your zip code area, county, city, or state. Law enforcement agencies that wish to host a collection site should call the Point of Contact for your area.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet. http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html

VI. Intergenerational Activities

2011 Rachel Carson Contest Winners

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2011 Rachel Carson Contest. The public has weighed in with votes and the winners of the fifth annual Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Contest are posted on our website. A panel of judges selected the finalists in five categories: photography, essay, poetry, dance and mixed media (photography and a poem or essay). Finalists were selected based on originality, creativity, use of an intergenerational team, and ability to capture a sense of wonder.

The contest is sponsored by the EPA in partnership with Generations United, the Rachel Carson Council Inc., the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and the National Center for Creative Aging. See: http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/2011/

Promoting Intergenerational and Environmental Health Across the Lifespan
New York City - June 7-8, 2012

Conference will be held June 7-8, 2012, at the New York Academy of Medicine

1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street New York City, NY

The day and a half, interactive event will focus on diverse factors that influence both human and ecological health across the lifespan. Following the successful October, 2010 conference Children First: Promoting Ecological Health for the Whole Child at UCSF organized by the Whole Child Center, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE), and the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, we propose to expand this conference program to a multi-dimensional, lifespan framework of diverse factors that influence both human and ecological health. These include the many levels of the built, food, chemical, psychosocial, and socioeconomic environments, and the practices and policies that promote or impede health at all ages. The conference venue for Promoting Intergenerational and Environmental Health Across the Lifespan is the newly renovated New York Academy of Medicine, a beautiful location across from Central Park on Fifth Avenue located on New York's "Museum Mile."

This conference will combine plenary "conversation" sessions featuring prominent leaders in a range of fields, along with innovative educational techniques to bring a deeper experiential quality to the meeting. Provocative dialogues and question and answer exchanges will be co-facilitated by elders and youth. Creative expression of music, art, dance and other experiential activities will be interspersed throughout the conference. Our goal is that this conference will model our vision of healthy systems across disciplines and generations by encouraging active participation and maximizing the creative energy and expertise of attendees, speakers and sponsors.

For more information see: http://www.healthandenvironment.org/news/conference/intergen2012

VII. Funding Opportunities

EPA Funding Opportunities

FY 2012 National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program

EPA, states, tribes, and territories, are working together to implement the Exchange Network (EN), a secure, Internet- and standards-based way to support electronic data reporting, sharing, and integration of both regulatory and non-regulatory environmental data. EN Partners exchanging data with each other or with EPA, should make the Exchange Network and the Agency's connection to it, the Central Data Exchange (CDX), the standard way they exchange data and should phase out any legacy methods they have been using. More information on the Exchange Network is available at www.exchangenetwork.net. Deadline: Nov. 4, 2011

http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants/index.html

Fall 2012 EPA Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowships For Undergraduate Environmental Study

The EPA, as part of its Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowships program, is offering Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) undergraduate fellowships for bachelor level students in environmental fields of study. See Section I.D for information on the different funding descriptions. The deadline for receipt of applications is December 12, 2011 4:00 PM ET for receipt of paper applications, and December 12, 2011, at 11:59:59 PM ET for submittal of electronic applications to Grants.gov. Subject to availability of funding, and other applicable considerations, the Agency plans to award approximately 40 new fellowships by July 30, 2012. Eligible students will receive support for their junior and senior years of undergraduate study and for an internship at an EPA facility during the summer of their junior year. The fellowship provides up to $19,700 per academic year of support and $9,500 of support for a three-month summer internship.

Deadline: December 12, 2011. http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2012/2012_gro_undergrad.html

New -- 9th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of the P3-People, Prosperity and the Planet Award Program, is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society. The P3 competition highlights the use of scientific principles in creating innovative projects focused on sustainability. The P3 Awards program was developed to foster progress toward sustainability by achieving the mutual goals of economic prosperity, protection of the planet, and improved quality of life for its people-- people, prosperity, and the planet's three pillars of sustainability. The EPA offers the P3 competition in order to respond to the technical needs of the world while moving towards the goal of sustainability. Please see the P3 website for more details about this program.

Deadline: Dec, 22, 2011.

http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2012/2012_p3.html

Other Funding Opportunities

Behavioral and Social Genomics of Aging: Opportunities in the Health and Retirement Study (R01)

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS; see at http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/ ) is a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of the US population aged 50 years and older (plus spouses) with an oversample of African and Hispanic Americans and a total sample size of over 20,000. Using funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the HRS is currently conducting genome-wide scans of DNA samples from approximately 20,000 participants, using the Illumina HumanOmni 2.5 Quad chip. It is anticipated that the genotype data for the first 13,000 subjects will be released to the public via dbGaP in the Fall of 2011, with data from the remaining participants to be released by the end of 2012. This FOA encourages applications taking advantage of the newly available genetic data to advance our understanding of how genetic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors affect the health and well-being of older Americans.

Deadline: Sept. 7, 2014. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-318.html

Climate Change and Health: Assessing and Modeling Population Vulnerability to Climate Change (RO1)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with participation from the following NIH components: FIC, NCI, NCMHD NHLBI, NIA, NIBIB, NICHD, NLM and OBSSR. This FOA encourages research applications to examine the differential risk factors of populations that lead to or are associated with increased vulnerability to exposures, diseases and other adverse health outcomes related to climate change. Applications may involve either applied research studies that address specific hypotheses about risk factors or population characteristics associated with increased vulnerability, or research projects to develop general models or methods for identifying and characterizing population vulnerability to climate change.

The ultimate goal of this research program is to help inform climate change adaptation and public health interventions to reduce current and future vulnerability of various populations to the health effects of climate change. Applications are anticipated to involve a multidisciplinary research team, including experts in health sciences and climatology as well as geography, modeling, statistics, demography, and social and behavioral sciences as appropriate. In addition, partnerships with community-based or advocacy organizations, public health officials, urban planners and others are encouraged.

Deadline: May 24, 2012. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-235.html

Advancing Novel Science in Womens Health Research (ANSWHR) (R21)

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), issued by the Office of Research on Womens Health (ORWH) and co-sponsoring NIH institutes and centers (ICs), is to promote innovative, interdisciplinary research that will advance new concepts in womens health research and the study of sex/gender differences. Recent research reports have established the importance of studying issues specific to women, including the scientific and clinical importance of analyzing data separately for females and males. ORWH is particularly interested in encouraging extramural investigators to undertake new interdisciplinary research to advance studies on how sex and gender factors affect women's health; however, applications in all areas of womens health and/or sex/gender research are invited. This FOA will use the NIH Exploratory/Developmental (R21) award mechanism. It is anticipated that $4 million will be available for FY 2011.

October 16, 2012 for new applications. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-10-226.html

Social and Behavioral Research on the Elderly in Disasters (R03)

This FOA issued by the National Institute on Aging encourages Small Research Grant (R03) applications from institutions or organizations that propose to conduct research in the behavioral and social sciences on the consequences of natural and man-made disasters for the health and well-being of the elderly, with an ultimate goal of preventing or mitigating harmful consequences. Disasters include weather-related events, earthquakes, large-scale attacks on civilian populations, technological catastrophes or perceived catastrophes, and pandemics.

Deadline: September 7, 2014. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-264.html

Translational Research to Help Older Adults Maintain their Health and Independence in the Community (R01)

Deadline: Standard Dates Apply: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-123.html

Asthma in Older Adults (R21)

This FOA encourages Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21) applications that propose to study the pathophysiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and/or management of asthma in older adults. Much of what is known about asthma in adults is based on studies in younger adult populations; however, the mechanisms underlying asthma in some older adults may differ, which may impact on diagnostic, treatment, and prevention strategies.

Deadline: September 7, 2013. http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=BLyDTg9QVLZ93JyJ6x2dx1jK64PSNt6cGZ1d3VdCzYFJF9TvFTW5!-370087949?oppId=56731&mode=VIEW

VIII. 2011 Calendar of Events & Meetings

October 2011

National Community Planning Month
http://www.planning.org/ncpm/

October 2-4, 2011-- International Symposium on Safe Medicine

Portland, Maine.

http://www.umaine.edu/mainecenteronaging/documents/2011MBSGSavetheDatefinal2.pdf

October 26-28, 2011-- Grantmakers in Aging Annual Conference

McLean, VA.

http://www.giaging.org/imis15_prod/internet/default.aspx

October 29, 2011 – DEA National Drug Take Back Initiative

10:00am to 2:00pm.