Focus: Healthy Ageing

The scientific programme of the ISCOMS has been enriched with the focus 'healthy ageing'. Healthy ageing will be a small yet significant part of the programme. 

University Medical Center Groningen – Healthy Ageing

The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is building the future of health. For this reason the UMCG has decided to put a heavy focus on Healthy Ageing: growing older in a healthy and active way. Under the umbrella of Healthy Ageing, all activities are gathered that contribute to the optimization of physical, functional, psychological and social ageing. Basic knowledge about the ageing processes and understanding of what is necessary for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of age-related, chronic diseases as well as for improved care for the elderly, will contribute to this process. These aims are also translated in the other key competences of the UMCG, such as in the clinical translation of the research outcomes, and in the education and training programmes of future researchers and care-workers.

The strength of the UMCG’s efforts in the area of healthy ageing is largely due to LifeLines: a large-scale cohort study that will follow 165,000 people for a minimum of 30 years and will record the course of their life and health developments. The unique three-generation approach is being used to study the extent to which heredity and the circumstances of life play a role in the occurrence of chronic diseases. Fundamental scientific research into ageing processes and diseases related to ageing is performed in the European Research Institute on the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA). In Groningen, a brand-new building is being erected, which will contain all the facilities needed for top-level research. Beginning in 2011, leading international researchers will start to work in this new building.

LifeLines and ERIBA complement and enhance one another and produce new insights and solutions. Other examples of Healthy Ageing-related initiatives within the UMCG are: Technology for Ageing People, Ageing Brain, UMCG Centre for Geriatric Medicine, Healthy Ageing at work and Proton therapy.

healthyageing.umcg.nl