SFU gerontologists tackle $30 million aging study
Andrew V. Wister, PhD, 778.782.5044, wister@sfu.ca (after May 24)
Heather Stewart, PhD, 778.834.3150
Susan Jamieson-McLarnon, PAMR, 778.782.5151
Simon Fraser University gerontology researchers are taking part in a major new 20-year study of 50,000 Canadians aged 45 to 85, to learn how they cope with health, social and economic changes as they age. The federal government is investing $30 million in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), based at McMaster University.
Andrew Wister, professor and chair of SFU's gerontology department, was a co-leader in the development of the study and will lead the SFU-based comprehensive data collection team.
"We have a large, inter-disciplinary team whose cutting-edge research will use the CLSA data,” notes Wister. “Our partnership with the Fraser Health Authority will help us capture the diversity of the province's aging population." B.C. has two additional data collection sites at UVic and UBC.
Hundreds of researchers all over the country will collaborate on this study, says Wister. “B.C. has been well represented in the planning for the study and it offers B.C. researchers a wonderful opportunity. Not too long from now 25 per cent of Canadians will be over age 65. The results of this study will lead to a better understanding of health and disease along the aging trajectory, and ultimately to better care and responsive social policies. It’s an investment in the future of us all.”
Wister and Parminder Raina, the lead principal investigator in the CLSA, will discuss the study and its projected impact in a keynote address June 10 at Fraser Health’s annual research week.
SFU Gerontology and its Gerontology Research Centre are world renowned for multi-disciplinary research on aging, population health and health promotion. A founding member of the university’s Vancouver campus, the department is home to the B.C. Network for Aging Research, one of eight health of population networks funded by the Michael Smith Foundation.
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