# A Research Mentoring Program in Geriatric Rehabilitative Care

> **NIH NIH K24** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2020 · $132,200

## Abstract

Rehabilitative care can play a major role in preventative care for older adults, targeting the prevention
of functional decline and disability. This is known as Prehabilitative Care. There are an insufficient number of
mentors in Geriatric Rehabilitative care and specifically Prehabilitative care. I am Physiatrist in the
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Harvard Medical School applying for a renewal
of a highly successful K24 mid-career development award. The patient-oriented research (POR) in my initial
award used a longitudinal cohort study as its platform and advanced our knowledge of: 1) clinical assessment
tools targeting mobility and falls; 2) important modifiable risk factors for mobility decline; and 3) characterized
important conditions that influence these outcomes. I successfully mentored 18 trainees, from diverse
backgrounds, leading to over 45 original publications. In addition to the pre-existing longitudinal cohort study,
which was recently publicly archived, a new VA funded randomized controlled trial focusing on
Prehabilitative care will serve as the primary platform for this renewal. Trainees will be exposed to
principles and concepts of geriatric rehabilitation, Prehabilitative care, POR and the conduct of clinical trials.
 Over the previous 20 years, I have led a successful research career in the Department of PM&R at
Harvard Medical School (HMS). In 2015, I became the Director of New England Geriatric Research Education
and Clinical Center (NEGRECC), the first Physiatrist to ever lead a VA GRECC. The transition to my VA
leadership role took time and diverted my effort. I am now ready to resume my role as a K24 mentor. I am an
Associate Professor, and my appointment to Professor is advancing through the promotions process. My
current administrative, research, educational and clinical responsibilities within VA only allows 10% effort/week
for mentoring of research trainees. I have a joint appointment between the VA and HMS. Under this award, my
non-VA responsibilities will be relieved such that I will be enabled to direct an additional 30% effort/week
towards the mentoring of research trainees in POR bringing my total effort to devote to mentoring to 40%.
 Projects that support this award include a VA merit award (RX003095-01A1) as well as the recently
archived longitudinal cohort study (1R01AG032052). Also, the work will be supported by the NIH funded Boston
Pepper Center, the Boston Roybal Center and the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science as well as the
NEGRECC. With the themes of Geriatric Rehabilitation and Prehabilitation, we will provide: direct mentoring with
the PI, training in rehabilitation science and aging research, training in the responsible conduct of research,
training in research project management, data analysis, biostatistical consultation, and an K24 advisory board
consisting of experienced scientists in relevant fields of interest. Redundancies are built in to the offering...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10054571
- **Project number:** 2K24AG069176-06
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** JONATHAN F BEAN
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $132,200
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10054571

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10054571, A Research Mentoring Program in Geriatric Rehabilitative Care (2K24AG069176-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10054571. Licensed CC0.

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