Columbia Mailman School of Public Health teams up with American University of Beirut to study effect of late life learning on cognition and aging

Grant and Award Announcement

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

January 19, 2023-- The National Health Institute (NIH) has awarded Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and The American University of Beirut (AUB) Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine a five-year grant for the Late Life Learning (LLL), Cognition and Aging (3LC) study.  Led by an interdisciplinary team at both institutions, 3LC is an innovative research project that aims to uncover the potential role of promoting healthier aging and delaying cognitive decline among older adults in Lebanon.

“The study, which will initially run over the next five years, aims to build research and infrastructure capacities to delineate opportunities for dementia prevention in Lebanon and the region,” stated Dr. Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, Multiple Principal Investigator (PI) at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

“The study offers a unique platform to address exciting, innovative and timely research questions. The ultimate aim is to improve our understanding of the determinants of active and healthy aging, and inform future investments and the design of LLL programs, providing insights for other populations in similarly low-resource settings worldwide.” Zeki Al Hazzouri is assistant professor in Columbia’s Department of Epidemiology and the Columbia Butler Aging Center.

“Lebanon has the largest proportion of older adults in the Arab region, and Lebanese older adults are exposed to a host of life course psychosocial adversities, including the recent economic meltdown, which makes it a particularly important and relevant setting to undertake such a study,” according to Dr. Martine Elbejjani, Multiple-PI from the Faculty of Medicine at AUB.

“At the same time, older people of today are generally healthier and living longer than their parents and many aspire to remain active in their old age”, says Dr. Abla Mehio Sibai, co-founding director of the University for Seniors (UfS) program at AUB and Multiple-PI on the 3LC study. Opportunities that provide enriching intellectual and social experiences are rare in the region. “This project will capitalize on the unique and well-established LLL program, the AUB UfS, to conduct a formal program evaluation and evaluate the influence of informal education in older age on cognitive, physical and social health”.

Other Columbia Investigators [ZAHA1] involved with the project include Drs. Jennifer Manly from Neurology, Sebastian Calonico from Health Policy and Management, and Linda Valeri from Biostatistics.

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the fourth largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its nearly 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change and health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with more than 1,300 graduate students from 55 nations pursuing a variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit www.mailman.columbia.edu.