October 2007 Volume 1, Number 8

News and Events

Center on Aging and GSA Conference 2007

Many of you know about the 60th annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America being held in San Francisco November 16-20. The Center on Aging will be displaying our newly updated exhibit during the meeting. We will be able to showcase Center programs and faculty on the display table. If you have brochures describing your program, manuscript reprints or other handout materials you wish to have displayed, please deliver sufficient copies (at least 50 recommended) to Louise Tonin, 585-9540, louise.tonin@utah.edu, in 590 CON by a deadline of November 9. Additional information will be sent out to those CoA members who are attending the conference.

SAVE THE DATE - Spring 2008 Research Retreat

The 2008 Center on Aging Research Retreat will be held on February 28 (afternoon) and 29 (morning), 2008 in Alumni Hall in the Health Sciences Education Building. Jeffrey Halter, M.D., Director of the University of Michigan Geriatrics Center, will be our keynote speaker. A poster session and reception will occur on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning's schedule will include presentations by recipients of the Center's 2007 pilot grants and Dr. Halter's keynote address. Additional information regarding the plans for the retreat will follow in subsequent newsletter editions.

Center on Aging Faculty Member Spotlight: Carl Asche

Dr. Carl Asche is a Research Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies and Fellowship Coordinator in the Department of Pharmacotherapy at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in Salt Lake City. Carl has a Master of Science in Health Economics from the University of York and a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Surrey. He also has obtained an M.B.A. and Diploma in Gerontology. Prior to joining the University of Utah in 2004, Carl spent 7 years in the pharmaceutical industry with Aventis Pharmaceuticals and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Group, where he managed health economics and outcomes research applied to both research and development (R&D) and customer marketing areas. Before entering the pharmaceutical industry, he worked as a Research Coordinator in the Department of Health Administration at the University of Toronto and as a Senior Economist for Alberta Health. Carl serves as co-chair of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research "Classification of Databases Working Group / Retrospective Database Special Interest Group". He is a member of the standing scientific committee of the International Health Economics Association World Congresses for 2007 (Copenhagen, Denmark) and 2009 (Beijing, China). He is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, and Current Medical Research and Opinion. His research has included clinical and economic outcomes associated with infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, dementia, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, oncology, musculoskeletal disorders, urology, and women's health. He has published widely, particularly in health services research and pharmacoeconomics.

Recent publications that Carl has been involved with having an aging focus have included such works as:

a. Asche C, Kirkness C, McAdam-Marx C, Fritz J, "The societal costs of low back pain: A Review of Studies Published Between 2001 and 2007" Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 2007, December, 21 (4) (in press).

b. Asche C, McAdam-Marx C, Shane-McWhorter L, Sheng X, Plauschinat C, " Adverse Events and Oral Antidiabetic Outcomes in a Real World Setting" Diabetes Obes Metab. 2007 Jul 21

c. McAdam-Marx C, LaFleur J, Kirkness C, Asche C, "A Comprehensive Review of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: Current and Future Treatment Options" Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 2007; 32(7):392-402.

Recent research support includes a recent R18 submission (PI: Julie Fritz) to the AHRQ entitled, "Standardizing the Management of Low Back Pain Management". Carl is working with other Center on Aging members, Drs. Ginny Pepper and Lynda Oderda, on a University of Utah Interdisciplinary Seed Grant entitled, "New Drugs and Fall Risk" focused on performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of new pharmacotherapies and their association with falls among older persons. Carl's other currently funded research grants are with pharmaceutical companies comprised of a diverse portfolio including research focused on osteoporosis along with a number of proposals under submission dealing with Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, overactive bladder and chronic kidney disease.

About our logo: The bristlecone pine tree (Pinus longaeva) the earth's oldest inhabitant with a life span of 4,000 years is found only in Utah and five other western states. Its extraordinary longevity and ability to adapt and survive in extremely harsh environmental conditions above 10,000 feet embodies the investigative spirit and mission of the Utah Center on Aging.

If you have questions about the University of Utah Center on Aging, please visit us online at http://aging.utah.edu 801-585-9540 or aging@hsc.utah.edu

Best,

Mark A. Supiano, MD
Executive Director - Center on Aging