Creating knowledge relevant for public health applications in immunology and aging

New types of knowledge are needed to meet public health challenges that are growing in scope and complexity. While contemporary life exposes people to interactions among an increasingly complex array of biological and psychosocial influences that can damage health, the complexity inherent in disease processes is generally neglected in research for public health applications. Health promotion and the prevention and control of diseases, including chronic diseases that develop over long periods of time, depend on strengthening the resistance of human hosts. The effective functioning of the immune system is an essential pathway through which host defenses operate to protect health. Research on immunology and aging can help to provide the types of new knowledge needed for effective health promotion to meet public health challenges in a period of global aging.