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PHOTOS: Ribbon-cutting held for new Jacksonville Aging Studies Center on the campus of UF Health Jacksonville

Jacksonville, FL — It'll be known as JAX-ASCENT.

The ribbon-cutting has now been held for a new research facility, focusing on aging studies, on the campus of UF Health Jacksonville.

We're told the Jacksonville Aging Studies Center is designed to serve as a hub for behavioral, nutritional, and pharmacologic clinical trials targeting older adults, with a focus on racial minorities and people of low socioeconomic status.

Tina Bottini, the assistant dean for research administration and compliance at the College of Medicine says, "Opening a center as big as this in Northeast Florida is incredibly exciting for our organization because it will specifically focus on helping adults as they age. The research undertaken here will improve lives throughout the country, and we're proud to be leading it."

Bottini says older adults, racial minorities, and people of low socioeconomic status have often been underrepresented in clinical research, so this center provides a unique opportunity to develop the proper prevention and treatment approaches for these populations.

Looking to the future, the center hopes to add 1,000 people each year to its registry, which is now officially active and open. People who are registered may be invited to take part in a variety of studies, if they qualify, as well as receive information about the latest research being conducted at the center.

JAX-ASCENT is housed in the office building at 1833 Boulevard Street in Jacksonville's urban core.

For more information or to sign up for the registry, click HERE or call 866-386-7730.

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