Initiative aims to address health challenges of an ageing population
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An initiative involving the University of Leicester aims to address the growing health challenges of an ageing UK population.
By 2040, nearly one in seven UK residents will be over 75 years and of these, many will face multiple health challenges.
In contrast, ‘blue zones’ are populations around the world who experience lower rates of chronic disease and live longer, healthier lives. This is seen in areas such as Okinawa in Japan and Sardinia in Italy, and are a product of many different social and cultural lifestyle factors including diet and exercise.
This initiative focusses on enabling researchers to gain new skills in investigating the underlying disease processes that cause poor health as we age, through supporting national and international collaborations. Researchers can then use this new knowledge to help tackle some of the many diseases associated with aging such as heart disease, diabetes, neurodegeneration, and cancer.
The Blue Zone Consortium comprises the University of Leicester, Nottingham Trent University and Northumbria University and includes education institutions, over 500 businesses, NHS trusts, councils and care sector organisations.
Professor Bee Tan from the University of Leicester’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences is co-investigator on the Consortium which will be further supported by the University’s College of Life Sciences Academic Lead for Early Career Researchers and Research Staff, Dr Andrew Millard, and through the Institute for Precision Health.
Professor Tan said: “This project will help new knowledge and skill acquisition for early career researchers and technical professionals in tackling some of the biggest health challenges within our ageing UK population. They will be exposed to diversity of thought and build novel collaborations across the consortia to advance healthy ageing initiatives and treatments, enabling people to live well for longer.”
The initiative is being funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC, UKRI) through the Flexible Talent Mobility Account (FTMA) Award, and seeks to transform healthy ageing through cross-sector collaboration, leveraging biotechnology and biosciences.
For more information, contact bluezoneenquiries@ntu.ac.uk