Published on: Sep 29, 2025
The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) have secured a $901,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging to establish the Center for SUNSHINE (Seniors Uniting Nationwide to Support Health, Integrated care, and Economics). The center, with potential support for up to six years, will serve as a national hub for interdisciplinary research, training, and innovation to strengthen resilience in aging populations.
Co-led by Jie Chen, PhD (UMD SPH), Rozalina McCoy, MD (UMSOM), and Stephen B. Thomas, PhD (UMD SPH), the center will unite expertise across economics, medicine, AI, epidemiology, and public health. It builds on five decades of scholarship from UMCP’s Center on Aging and the computational and clinical strengths of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing.
Our ultimate goal is happy, healthy, and well-supported aging for everyone, said Chen. Through bold interdisciplinary research, we aim to transform care systems and empower communities.
SUNSHINE will engage 10 UMCP academic units, Howard University, and UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies, while also funding pilot projects and mentoring the next generation of scholars. Initial projects include exploring telehealth and behavioral health for older adults (led by Shelby Steuart, PhD) and access to new COPD treatments (led by Margaret Connolly, MD).
Community engagement will be central, ensuring older adults and families help shape research, policies, and innovations to reimagine healthy aging nationwide.
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