CHAIRS-C: Climate, Health, and Aging Innovation and Research Solutions for Communities

The Capacity Building Core (CBC) of CHAIRS-C will prepare Brown researchers to engage in innovative research that reflects the complexity of climate-related public health hazards and to produce actionable knowledge for adapting to a changing environment and reducing harmful health impacts. The CBC will foster

research projects that relate to the CHAIRS-C theme of identifying climate risks and solutions to promote healthy aging for all, particularly those managing chronic health conditions. The long-term objective of the CBC is to design and institutionalize transdisciplinary collaborative research and community engagement trainings

guided by the practice principles of equity and actionability and to launch multiple research projects and scholars focused on climate impacts on the health of older adults. To achieve these long-term objectives, the CBC will pursue the following specific aims: 1) Catalyzing new research in climate, aging, and health by

implementing a Pilot Projects Program and providing early stage and new NIH investigators with support for research proposal development, submission, and execution; 2) Developing research capabilities in climate, aging, and health research through a progressive sequence of activities, beginning with a Climate Change,

Aging, and Health Unconference of faculty and postdocs to identify research gaps and generate Transdisciplinary Collaborative Teams focused on addressing those gaps, and a set of Accelerating Science Workshops to train researchers in collaborative team science skills, community engagement, use of climate

data in health research, and modeling approaches for intervention science, among others; and 3) Expanding capacity for research and action in climate, aging, and health by growing the Brown climate and health curriculum at all degree levels; fostering career opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral

researchers; and training older adults to prepare for and communicate climate risks. The CBC will coordinate all capacity building activities with the Administrative Core, Research Project, and Community Engagement Core.