Building on its pioneering work in the field of palliative care, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced today that it and four partner institutions have been awarded a five-year, $64 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a nationwide consortium dedicated to palliative care research for the benefit of patients and their caregivers.
The Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) consortium will transform the field by providing resources, expertise, and coordination that support high-quality research for enhancing care for people living with serious illness and those who care for them. It is unique in that it brings together researchers from five of the nation’s leading palliative care centers—the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Health System’s Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Colorado University School of Medicine, New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, Duke University School of Medicine, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania—and involves more than 20 institutions nationwide, 40 key personnel, and six NIH Institutes.
“This is the largest-ever NIH initiative to support palliative care research and the first multi-institute NIH undertaking to provide such funding. We are very grateful to the NIH for recognizing the importance of establishing this consortium, which will drive advances in research, policy, and clinical care,” said Melissa Aldridge, PhD, MBA, Professor and Vice Chair of Research at the Icahn School of Medicine, who will serve as a Principal Investigator of the consortium.
Dr. Aldridge added that a key focus of ASCENT will be funding and training early-career faculty nationwide. Approximately half of the grant will be distributed through early-stage career development awards and pilot awards for palliative care projects across a range of priority areas and research methodologies. Dr. Aldridge will oversee the funding of these awards in her role as Principal Investigator and will also oversee the career development and training of junior faculty in her role as co-lead of the Research Education Core.
“Early-career research faculty frequently face challenges in securing the funding they need to start and build their careers,” said Dr. Aldridge. “My role is to ensure that early-career faculty across institutions, regions, research topics, and disciplines have access to this amazing new opportunity and then to guide their career development, research training, and networking opportunities. We believe this will have a multiplier effect on the field, resulting in more investigators, more rigorous research, and more sustainability in funded palliative care science that improves delivery of care and quality of life for patients.”
The award, which will allocate $2.4 million to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for these efforts, expands on the tremendously successful model and program that Mount Sinai has operated through the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC) for the past 20 years. Founded in 2005, the philanthropically funded NPCRC was the first initiative dedicated to promoting, developing, and funding palliative care research across the nation. Between 2005 and 2023, it funded and trained more than 120 investigators.
“The sunsetting of the NPCRC this year creates a critical need to launch the next phase of palliative care research infrastructure, given the growing number of Americans who are living longer and with serious and chronic health conditions,” said R. Sean Morrison, MD, the Ellen and Howard C. Katz Professor and Chair of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Founder and Director of the NPCRC.
“Thanks to the generosity of the NIH, we are able to continue this important work through the multi-site ASCENT consortium while training and funding a new generation of scientists nationwide. This will invigorate the field, bringing forward more innovative approaches to palliative care that make a difference in meaningful ways for the patients and families we serve.”
The award is being administered by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) with funding and collaboration from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Nursing Research, and National Cancer Institute.
“We know from demographic studies that we are living longer with serious illnesses, and all Americans deserve to benefit from the latest scientific advances that can provide relief from physical and psychological symptoms and receive well-coordinated care that is aligned with their goals,” said Richard Hodes, MD, Director of the NIA. “The NIA is pleased to see the launch of the Consortium for Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan, and I know that my colleagues in the participating NIH institutes are equally committed to supporting the research resulting from this initiative so that we may improve the quality of life for those in need of palliative care.”
Tags: Geriatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Health System, Palliative Care, Melissa D Aldridge, PhD, R. Sean Morrison, MD
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