With the proportion of older people increasing in the United States and around the world, we face new challenges and opportunities, particularly in the areas of health care and retirement systems, long-term care, and family supports. To help inform public discussion of such issues and promote the health and well-being of older adults, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health supports research on the demography and economics of population aging. The Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging and Centers on the Demography and Economics of Alzheimer’s Disease/Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) exist to seed new lines of research in the demography and economics of aging and the demography, economics and health services research relevant to AD/ADRD. The Centers have been instrumental in supporting pilot research, attracting and developing scholars, establishing networks to advance scientific discourse, and developing and promoting new data resources.

The Coordinating Center works collaboratively to foster communication and collaborative activities across the Centers. It works in partnership with the NIA Research Centers Collaborative Network, which aims to catalyze cross-disciplinary research across the six NIA center programs. To further maximize the growth of cross disciplinary research, it also promotes collaborative work between the Demography Centers and other NIA Centers by hosting multidisciplinary workshops and by supporting early career investigators to embark on collaborations across NIA Centers.

The Coordinating Center collaborates with the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) to produce publications with broad appeal that are aggregated and synthesized research findings from the Demography and Economics of Aging and AD/ADRD Centers. These materials are shared with PRB’s 15,000 member listserv, 15,000 Facebook followers, and 7,000 Twitter followers.