Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)

Madison GRECC

• Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD)
• Biology of Aging and Geroscience including Sarcopenia and Osteoarthritis
• Clinical and Rehabilitation Research including Dysphagia and Physical Fitness and Vascular Health
• Dysphagia Treatment in Older Adults
• Physical Fitness and Vascular Health
• Geroscience and Gerotherapeutics

• Novel mechanisms and targets for Alzheimer’s disease treatment
• Clinical interventions for Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention
• PREVENTABLE study (PRagmatic EValuation of evENTs And Benefits of Lipid-lowering in oldEr adults)
• Wisconsin Native Elder Dementia Care Project
• FABP7 as a therapeutic target in traumatic brain injury
• Metabolism as a target for sarcopenia prevention and treatment
• Mechanistic studies in diabetes development, factors, targets, and interventions
• Impact of the mTOR signaling pathway on the development of osteoarthritis to identify treatment targets
• REMEDY Recovery of Aged Muscle after Disuse Atrophy
• Impact of novel rehabilitative approaches for dysphagia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
• Improving blood pressure control and better defining blood pressure goals in older patients with and without cardiovascular disease
• Epidemiology behind blood vessel stiffness and how this is impacted by aging and cardiovascular disease risk factors
• Determination of how skeletal muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics and remodeling mediate aging 
• Healthspan extending effects of exercise and/or metformin
• Rapamycin Does Not Compromise Exercise-Induced Muscular Adaptations in Female Mice
• Wisconsin Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging
• Basic Science Program 

• Training the next generation of clinicians across multiple specialties and disciplines to be skilled in geriatric care
• Fostering development of interdisciplinary team skills to promote the best possible care for complex, older Veterans
• Disseminating knowledge of geriatric best practices both locally and nationally to advance the care of Veterans
• Creation of innovative educational tools in geriatrics to advance knowledge, skills and attitudes of trainees

• Integration of Geriatric Telehealth into established Geriatric Clinical Programs
• Telemedicine solutions for delivering geriatric consultation to Tribal Health Clinics
• Integrating geriatric 5Ms into a comprehensive falls’ prevention program
• Central vs Peripheral Blood Pressure Measurements Older Adult Veterans and Impact on Management
• Bench-to-bedside" care innovations
• Adapting DCHAT (The Dementia Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool) in a Memory Clinic Setting
• Adapting Healthy Aging Brain (HAP-B) Group within a short stay CLC population

• Paulsen AJ, Driscoll I, Breidenbach BM, Glittenberg M, Lose SR, Ma Y, Sager MA, Carlsson CM, Gallagher CL, Hermann BP, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Asthana S, Johnson SC, Betthauser TJ, Christian BT, Cook DB, Okonkwo OC. The impact of estimated cardiorespiratory fitness on Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and their relationships with cognitive decline. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2025 Jun 24;11(2):e70122. doi: 10.1002/trc2.70122. PMID: 40567913; PMCID: PMC12187973. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40567913/
• Heston MB, Teague JP, Cody KA, Deming Y, Ruiz de Chavez E, Morse J, Chin NA, Engelman CD, Chappell RJ, Langhough RE, Gleason CE, Clark LR, Zuelsdorff ML, Betthauser TJ; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Factors associated with age at tau pathology onset and time from tau onset to dementia in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Aug;21(8):e70551. doi: 10.1002/alz.70551. PMID: 40859634; PMCID: PMC12381359. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40859634/.
• Krekeler BN, Loy RD, Shaheen N, Lulich SM, Sheridan P, Peña-Chávez RE, Connor NP, Rogus-Pulia N. Reliability of 3-D/4-D Ultrasound Contouring of Tongue Surface During Swallowing. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2025 Aug;51(8):1182-1188. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2025.03.016. Epub 2025 May 4. PMID: 40320346; PMCID: PMC12229765. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40320346/.
• Elliehausen CJ, Olszewski SS, Minton DM, Shult CG, Ailiani AR, Trautman ME, Babygirija R, Lamming DW, Hornberger TA, Konopka AR. Rapamycin Does Not Compromise Exercise-Induced Muscular Adaptations in Female Mice. Aging Cell. 2025 Oct;24(10):e70183. doi: 10.1111/acel.70183. Epub 2025 Jul 24. PMID: 40704394; PMCID: PMC12507417. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40704394/
• Kuehn JF, Zhang Q, Heston MB, Kang JW, Harding SJ, Davenport-Sis NJ, Peter DC, Kerby RL, Vemuganti V, Schiffmann EC, Tallon MM, Harpt J, Hajra A, Wheeler JL, Shankar S, Mickol A, Zemberi J, Chow H, Zhang E, Clements E, Noughani H, Forst A, Everitt G, Kollmorgen G, Quijano-Rubio C, Christian BT, Carlsson CM, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Ulland TK, Rey FE, Bendlin BB. Fecal short-chain fatty acids vary by sex and amyloid status. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Nov;21(11):e70877. doi: 10.1002/alz.70877. PMID: 41273231; PMCID: PMC12639406. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41273231/

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