LEBANON, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Dartmouth Health has secured an $11.8 million federal grant to establish a new research center dedicated to improving care for older adults living with serious illnesses, with leaders saying the initiative is designed to address the growing healthcare needs of an aging population.

The funding comes from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a division of the National Institutes of Health, through its Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program. The award will support the creation of the Center for Aging with Serious Illness (CASI) at Dartmouth Health in Lebanon. An additional $2.7 million from the grant will support research efforts at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.

The new center will bring together experts from multiple disciplines to study the medical, behavioral and healthcare challenges facing older adults with chronic illnesses. Researchers hope the work will lead to improved patient care, better quality of life and data that can help shape future healthcare policy.

Dartmouth Health President and CEO Dr. Joanne Conroy said the Upper Valley’s location in one of the nation’s oldest and most rural regions makes the health system well positioned to lead research in the field.

“Rural America is the next frontier in healthcare, and nowhere is that clearer than in the care of older adults living with serious illness,” Conroy said in a statement.

Health officials say the number of Americans living longer with chronic, life-limiting illnesses continues to rise, but research aimed at improving their care has not kept pace.

Dr. Angelo Volandes, Dartmouth Health’s interim chief research officer and one of the center’s co-principal investigators, said CASI will build a network of researchers focused on finding solutions to the unique challenges older adults face while living with serious illness.

The center will also emphasize training and mentoring early-career clinician-scientists, providing them with research support and guidance as they develop independent research programs focused on aging and serious illness.

Among its priorities, CASI will expand Dartmouth Health’s research infrastructure, create structured development opportunities for new investigators and provide specialized support in areas such as biostatistics, ethics, data management, research design and community engagement.

Dr. Nathan Goldstein, chair of Dartmouth Health’s Department of Medicine and another co-principal investigator, said New Hampshire and Vermont have some of the nation’s oldest populations, making the region an ideal setting for the initiative.

He said the center also aims to strengthen the pipeline of physician-scientists committed to improving care for older adults while helping retain researchers in northern New England.

Dartmouth Health officials expect the center’s research to contribute to new approaches for caring for chronically ill older adults in rural communities and beyond.