The NDA Programme has created an innovative research connection with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) whereby Canadian researchers can bid for CIHR funds in order to join NDA projects as co-researchers. I am pleased to announce that a further five projects have been funded after the first round of four last year. They are linked to the following NDA projects:

• ‘HALCyon Healthy Ageing across the Life Course’ led by Diana Kuh, University College London.

• ‘SUS-IT: Sustaining IT use by older people to promote autonomy and independence’ led by Leela Damodaran, Lougborough University

• ‘Ages and Stages: The Place of Theatre in Representations and Recollections of Ageing’ led by Miriam Bernard, Keele University

• ‘Synergistic effects of physical and psychological stress upon immunesenescence’ led by Janet Lord, Birmingham University

• ‘Biomechanical and sensory constraints of step and stair negotiation in old age’ led by Constantinos Maganaris, Manchester Metropolitan University

Details can be found on the NDA website: www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk

On behalf of Research Councils UK, the NDA Programme organised a two-day workshop in Beijing in 17-18 March. The China/UK Joint Workshop on Healthy Ageing – Diet and Nutrition Across the Life Course follows the two NDA ageing workshops in Beijing and London in 2008 and 2009, on behalf of the ESRC. The Healthy Ageing Workshop was a joint venture between the NDA and Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Programmes. It brought together leading UK scientists in the field of diet, nutrition and ageing, with their Chinese counterparts, led by the Elderly and Clinical Nutrition Department. The two days of presentations and discussions were aimed at sharing the latest research knowledge in this field and developing collaborative links. The workshop proceedings will be available soon on the NDA website.