# Boston Roybal Center for Active Lifestyle Interventions

> **NIH NIH P30** · BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $551,352

## Abstract

The overall goal of the Boston Roybal Center for Active Lifestyle Interventions (RALI Boston) is to develop and
test behavior change strategies to promote healthy aging, especially among sedentary adults and others at
high risk for poor health outcomes. It is widely known that physical activity is broadly beneficial for physical,
psychological, and cognitive aspects of health. However, the number of middle-aged and older adults who are
regularly active remains quite low. This RALI Boston renewal application focuses on theme #2 from the RFA:
“Physical activity promotion to create, modify and pilot test principle-based interventions to reduce sedentary
behavior and increase physical activity.” The specific aims of the project are to: 1) conduct innovative clinical
trials based on solid research evidence and using the NIH Stage Model that can be translated to increase
physical activity in middle-aged and older adults as a means to healthy aging, 2) advance research on
behavior change processes in intervention research by identifying and testing the mechanisms that lead to
increases in physical activity and improved health and well-being, 3) provide the necessary scientific expertise
and resources to facilitate innovative interdisciplinary research and translation by leading and coordinating
projects across five universities and community organizations. These aims will be accomplished through two
cores, the Management and Administration Core and the Pilot Core. We will develop novel behavior change
strategies, evaluate how they work in clinical trials with different vulnerable populations, and assess whether
they lead to sustained changes in physical activity, using well-validated measures that are available to
investigators in our RALI Toolbox. Ultimately, we will use the information gained to refine the techniques and
update our conceptual framework, and will develop and test full scale translational interventions designed to
improve activity, health and quality of life among middle-aged and older adults. The Center is distinguished by
a number of innovative features: It 1) recognizes the multiple influences on human behavior that interact in
complex ways and applies a unique multi-component model of behavior change; 2) uses a personalized
approach and adapts the proposed interventions according to the individual characteristics and contextual
circumstances of the person; 3) expands our focus to include basic neural mechanisms and other mediators of
behavior change by employing novel imaging methods and noninvasive electrical stimulation; 4) focuses on
underserved, vulnerable populations of middle-aged and elderly adults at risk for poor health outcomes and
partners with community organizations serving diverse middle-aged and older adults who will benefit from the
Center activities; 5) uses a common core of behavioral measures that will enable us to compare results of
different pilot study interventions; 6) has successfully engaged a committed, int...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10003136
- **Project number:** 5P30AG048785-07
- **Recipient organization:** BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** MARGIE E LACHMAN
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $551,352
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-30 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10003136

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10003136, Boston Roybal Center for Active Lifestyle Interventions (5P30AG048785-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10003136. Licensed CC0.

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