With the renewal of the center grant, CDHA has much to look forward to in the next five years. With increased NIA funding of over fifty percent and significant support from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education and UW’s College of Letters & Science—among others—the center is poised for growth. This collective support will enable CDHA to continue and expand the pilot projects program, increase outreach and events, and enhance the impact of key thematic areas.
CDHA looks forward to new initiatives and collaborative opportunities with the Retirement & Disability Research Center in addition to the Wisconsin Research Data Center, Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine, Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Waisman Center, Institute on Aging, and, of course, the Center for Demography and Ecology, among many other groups.
Of particular importance, the new Initiative in Social Genomics (ISG) at UW–Madison has completed its cluster hiring effort over the past two years. The initiative has brought three new faculty to campus and will position UW to become one of the premier institutions in the world for the integration of social and genetic science.
Competing for center renewal takes an enormous amount of time and effort, and CDHA’s successful application required the hard work of many, including colleagues at Social Science Research Services, especially Janet Clear and Susan Vial, and, on the faculty side, CDHA Associate Director Michal Engelman and former Director Alberto Palloni.
With accumulated expertise of affiliates in several key thematic areas, such as health disparities and impacts of place on health, CDHA is well positioned to propose and conduct new research aimed at understanding and combating the pressing issues of structural racism as well as the global pandemic. CDHA will prioritize efforts to enhance diversity in our research and training activities. These issues are among our top priorities for the next five years and beyond.