ORCLS Researchers: Bradley J. Willcox

Bradley J. Willcox, MD

Director, Department of Research and Planning, Queen's Medical Center
Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii
Associate Director, Interdisciplinary Research on Aging, Pacific Health Research Institute (PHRI)
Investigator, Geriatrics and Gerontology, PHRI, Kuakini Medical Center and Straub Hospital
Staff Physician, Orthopedic Hospitalist Program, The Queen's Medical Center
Medical Team Care Attending Physician, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii
Medical Director, Willcox HealthSpan Clinic

Bradley Willcox MD, MS is a Physician-Investigator in Geriatrics. He currently holds the post of Director, Department of Research and Planning, Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii as well Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii. Dr. Willcox is also Associate Director of Interdisciplinary Research on Aging at the Pacific Health Research Institute (PHRI) in Honolulu and Investigator, Geriatrics and Gerontology, PHRI, Kuakini Medical Center and Straub Hospital. Additionally, Dr. Willcox works as Staff Physician, Orthopedic Hospitalist Program, The Queen's Medical Center and Medical Team Care Attending Physician, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii and Medical Director, Willcox HealthSpan Clinic.

Dr. Willcox is Co-Principal Investigator of the Okinawa Centenarian Study and Principal Investigator of the U.S. NIH-NIA funded "Genetics of Exceptional Longevity in Okinawan Centenarians" Study, and "the Hawaii Lifespan Study", also funded by NIH-NIA. He received his Bachelor and Master of Science from the University of Calgary and his MD from the University of Toronto and subsequently trained in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic and geriatrics at Harvard Medical School. He has published and lectured over the past 10 years in aging, nutrition and health, especially with reference to Okinawan longevity and has won numerous awards for his work including the American Federation for Medical Research Henry Christian Award for research excellence. Dr. Willcox is currently funded by several research grants from the US National Institutes of Health including the Hawaii Lifespan Study (NIA) and the Prostate, Lung, Colon, Ovarian Cancer Trial (NCI) to study gene-environment interactions that lead to healthy aging and screening to lower cancer risk.

A. Positions and Honors

1996-1997 Intern, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CA
1997-2000 Resident Physician, Division of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN
2000-2002 Fellow in Geriatric Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division on Aging, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2002-present Physician Investigator, Pacific Health Research Institute, Honolulu, HI
2003-present Asst. Professor, Geriatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hawaii, HI
2005-present Staff Physician, Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, HI
Selected Honors and Awards
2000 Mayo Clinic Calgary Fellowship
2000 American Federation for Medical Research Henry Christian Award
2001 Men's Associate Research Fellow, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged
2002 Multiple Sclerosis Society -- Best Wellness Book Nomination
2003 Director's Citation: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
2004 Member, Longevity Consortium, NIH/NIA Expert Committee on Exceptional Longevity
2005 Honored Member, Strathmore's Who's Who in Aging
2006 Outstanding Physician of the Year Nominee, Queen's Medical Center
2006 Dorothy Dillon Eweson Special Lecture on Advances in Aging Research, American Foundation for Aging Research

B. Selected Peer-reviewed Publications (since 2001 from > 30)

Suzuki M, Willcox BJ, Willcox DC. Implications from and for food cultures for cardiovascular disease: longevity. Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr 2001;10(2):165-171.
Willcox BJ, Abbott RD, Yano K, Rodriguez BL, Willcox DC, Tanaka B, Curb JD. C-reactive Protein as a Novel Risk Factor for CVD: Is it Ready for Prime Time? Cardiovascular Rev Rep 2004;25;66-69.
Willcox BJ, Abbott RD, Yano K, Rodriguez BL, Willcox DC, Curb JD. C-reactive protein, cardiovascular disease and stroke: new roles for an old biomarker. Expert Rev Neurotherapeutics 2004;4:507 - 518.
Suzuki M, Willcox BJ, Willcox DC. Successful aging: Secrets of Okinawan longevity. Geriatrics and Gerontology International 2004;4(4):S180-181.
Willcox BJ, Yano K, Chen R, Willcox DC, Rodriguez BL, Masaki KH, Donlon T, Tanaka B, Curb JD. How Much Should We Eat? The Association Between Energy Intake and Mortality in a 36-year Follow-up Study of Japanese-American Men in Hawaii. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004;59:789-95.
Bernstein AM, Willcox BJ, Tamaki H, Kunishima N, et al. Autopsy of an Okinawan-Japanese Centenarian: Absence of Many Age-Related Diseases. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2004;11:1195-9.
Willcox BJ, Scott JN. Growth Associated Proteins and Regeneration-Induced Gene Expression in the Aging Neuron. Mech Age Dev 2004;125:513-16.
Imke C, Rodriguez BL, Grove JS, McNamara JR, Waslien C, Katz AR, Willcox B, Yano K, Curb JD. Are remnant-like particles independent predictors of coronary heart disease incidence? The Honolulu Heart study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2005;25(8):1718-22.
Willcox BJ, Willcox DC, He Q, Curb JD, Suzuki M. Siblings of Okinawan Centenarians Exhibit Lifelong Mortality Advantages. J Gerontol Biol Med Sci 2006;61(4):345-54.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, Todoriki H, Curb JD, Suzuki M. Caloric restriction and human longevity: what can we learn from the Okinawans? Biogerontology. 2006;7(3):173-7.
Willcox BJ. Centenarians and other exceptional survivors as models for aging research. AGE 2006;28:309-11.
Curb JD; Ceria-Ulep CD; Rodriguez BL; Grove J, Guralnik J, Willcox BJ; Donlon TA, Masaki KH, Chen R. Performance based measures of physical function for high function populations. J Am Geriatr Soc, 54:737-42, 2006.
Willcox BJ, He Q, Chen R, Yano K, Masaki KH, Grove JS, Donlon TA, Willcox DC, Curb JD. Midlife risk factors and healthy survival in men. JAMA. 2006;296(19):2343-50.
Yanagita M, Willcox BJ, Masaki KH, Chen R, He Q, Rodriguez BL, Ueshima H, Curb JD. Disability and depression: investigating a complex relation using physical performance measures. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006;14(12):1060-8.
Willcox BJ. (Editorial). Centenarians and other exceptional survivors as models for aging research. AGE 2006;28:309-11.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, Hsueh WC, Suzuki M. Genetic determinants of exceptional human longevity: insights from the Okinawa Centenarian Study. AGE 2006;28:313-32.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, Shimajiri S, Kurechi S, Suzuki M. Aging gracefully: a retrospective analysis of functional status in Okinawan centenarians. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007;15(3):252-6.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, Sokolovsky J, Sakihara S. The cultural context of "successful aging" among older women weavers in a northern Okinawan village: the role of productive activity. J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2007;22(2):137-65.
Willcox BJ, Willcox DC, Todoriki H, Yano K, Curb JD, Suzuki M. Caloric restriction, energy balance and healthy aging in Okinawans and Americans: biomarker differences in septuagenarians. Okinawan J Am Studies 2008;4:62-74.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, He Q, Wang N-C, Suzuki M. They really are that old: a validation study of centenarian prevalence in Okinawa. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2008;63:338-349.
Willcox BJ, Curb JD, Rodriguez BL. Antioxidants in cardiovascular health and disease: key lessons from epidemiologic studies. Am J Cardiology 2008;101:S75-S86.
Willcox BJ, Donlon, TA, He Q, Chen R, Yano K, Masaki KH, Grove JS, Rodriguez, BL, Willcox DC, Curb JD. FOXO3A Genotype is Strongly Associated with Human Longevity. Proc Nat'l Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105:13987-13992.
Sekikawa A, Curb JD, Ueshima H, El-Saed A, Kadowaki T, Abbott RD, Evans RW, Rodriguez BL, Okamura T, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Nakamura Y, Masaki K, Edmundqicz D, Kashiwagi A, Willcox BJ et al. Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese-American, and white men: a cross-sectional study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008;;52:417-424.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, Wang T, Rosenbaum M, Suzuki M. Biodemographic and phenotypic characteristics of supercentenarians in Okinawa. J Gerontol: Biol Med Sci 2008. In press.
Koropatnick TA, Kimbell J, Chen R, Grove JS, Donlon TA, Masaki KH, Rodriguez BL, Willcox BJ, Yano K, Curb JD. High density lipoprotein cholesterol, cholesteryl ester transfer protein variants, and healthy aging in Japanese-American men. J Gerontol: Biol Med Sci 2008. In press.
Ceria-Ulep CD, Grove J, Chen R, Masaki K, Rodriguez B, Donlon T, Guralnik J, Willcox BJ, Curb JD. Assessing three measurements of balance among healthy older men. (Submitted, Clin Intervent Aging 2008).
Donlon TA, Grove J, Willcox BJ, Yano K, Chen R, Rodriguez BL, Masaki K, Ceria C, Curb JD. Mitochondrial genotypes and healthy aging. (In preparation).
Selected Peer-Reviewed Scientific Abstracts (since 2001 from > 50)
Willcox BJ, Willcox DC, Suzuki M. Defining cardiovascular health in a large population-based study of exceptional survivors. Circulation 2003;107(19):E157.
Willcox BJ, Todoriki H, Willcox DC, Suzuki M, Yano K, Abbott R, Rodriguez B, Curb J. Early life caloric restriction and exceptional survival in Okinawa: 50 years of population data. Gerontologist 2003;43 (Sp. Iss. 1):2.
Martin P, Fry P, Willcox BJ, Willcox DC, Poon L, Rott C. Personal and Familial characteristics of exceptional survivors. Gerontologist 2004;44(Sp. Iss. 1):596-7.
Curb JD, Hadley E, Willcox BJ. The genetics of exceptional survival: The Pacific Genetic Epidemiologic Study. Gerontologist 2004;44(Sp. Iss. 1):439-40.
Curb JD, Chen R, Grove J, Willcox BJ, Donlon T, Yano K, Tall A, Masaki K, Rodriguez BL. HDL cholesterol, CETP genetic variants and survival in elderly Japanese American men. Gerontologist 2004;44(Sp. Iss. 1):222.
Willcox BJ, Hsueh WC, He Q, Willcox DC, Curb JD, Suzuki M. Substantial advantage for longevity in siblings of Okinawan centenarians. Genetic Epidemiology 2005;29(3):286-7.
Willcox BJ, Willcox DC, Curb JD, Allman RM. Exceptional longevity in Okinawa: Interdisciplinary and cross-national perspectives on healthy aging. Gerontologist 2005;45(Sp. Iss. 2):593-4.
Kimata C, Rodriguez B, Grove JS, Willcox BJ. Walking reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease among elderly individuals with diabetes: The Honolulu Heart Program. Circulation 2005;112(17 Suppl. S):U898.
Rodriguez BL, Abbott RD, Mody SH, Masaki K, Willcox B, Petrovitch H, Ross W, Schatz I, Blanchette P, Curb JD, Woodman RC. The impact of hemoglobin on total mortality in elderly Asian-American men: The Honolulu Heart Program. Blood 2005;106(11);174A.
Curb JD, Masaki K, Liang S, Chen R, Willcox B, Rodriguez B, Yano K, Ikeda A, Abbott R. Association of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and coronary calcification in elderly Japanese-American men: The Honolulu Heart Program. Circulation 2006;113(8):E358.
Willcox B, Willcox D, Gondo Y, Yashin A, Hsueh W, Curb JD. The Genetic Epidemiology of Healthy Aging: Disentangling the Effects of Genes, Ethnicity and Environment. Gerontologist 2006.
Hsueh W-C, He Q, Willcox DC, Suzuki M, Chen JW, Chen R,Yano K, Donlon T, Curb JD, Grove J, Browner WS, Cummings SR, Boehnke M, Kwok P-Y, Willcox BJ. Comparisons of Genome Diversity between the Okinawan and Four HapMap Populations. Accepted for Presentation at the American Society of Human Genetics 57th Annual Meeting on October 23rd to 27th 2007.
Willcox DC, Willcox BJ, Hsueh W-C, He Q, Curb JD, Suzuki M. Gene Variants and Healthy Aging in Okinawa and Hawaii. Accepted for Presentation at the Gerontolgoical Society of America 60th Annual Meeting on November 16th to 20th 2007.

C. Research Support

Ongoing
1 R01 AG027060-01 (Willcox) 09/30/05-08/31/09
NIH/NIA
Defining the Healthy Aging Phenotype
Aims: To study the functional characteristics of healthy aging over the lifespan and identify biological and behavioral factors that enable people to survive to exceptional ages in good health. We are using existing human longitudinal data and specimens from the 40+ year Honolulu Heart Program (HHP) dataset, and studying SNPs in the insulin signaling pathway that might be linked to the healthy aging phenotype in a cohort of exceptionally healthy and long-lived men.
Role: PI
N01-CN-25515 (Yokochi) 09/03/92-09/29/11
NIH/NCI
Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial
Aims: To determine whether screening tests for prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancers will reduce the number of deaths from these cancers.
Role: Co-Investigator
N01-CN-25515 (Balkin) 07/01/02-6/30/09
NIH/NCI
National Lung Screening Trial
Aims: To examine the risks and benefits of spiral computed tomography (CT) and standard chest X-ray in the detection of lung cancer.
Role: Co-Investigator
Completed
5 U19 AG023122-03 (Cummings) 07/01/06-06/30/07
California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute
The Genetic Basis for Exceptional Longevity in Okinawa
Aims: Investigate the linkage disequilibrium patterns of Okinawans and determine whether this genotyping platform provides adequate coverage for a larger genome-wide association study.
Role: Subcontract PI
1 KO8 AG22788-01 (Willcox) 09/30/03-12/31/05
NIH\NIA
Defining the Genetics of Exceptional Human Survival
Aims: Career development award that provided salary and educational support to help plan a study of cross-national survival characteristics of Okinawan-Japanese with other cohorts of exceptionally long-lived men and women, particularly the Honolulu Heart Program cohort, in order to determine the etiological factors important for the healthy aging phenotype.
Role: PI
2003-1343 (Abbott/Willcox) 06/01/03-08/30/05
Hawaii Community Foundation
Coronary Calcium in Japanese-American Men of Exceptional Longevity
Aims: To determine the prevalence of coronary calcification (as measured by ultra-fast spiral computed tomography) and its association with risk factor profiles in elderly Japanese American men.
Role: Co-Investigator
1R01 AG18715-01 (Curb) 09/30/00-08/31/04
NIH/NIA
Pacific Genetic Epidemiological Study on Aging
Aims: To develop a new genetic network [the Pacific Genetic (PacGen) Network] of experts in genetics, epidemiology, geriatrics, and biostatistics to study whether polymorphisms of single genes with important effects metabolic pathways may contribute to aging and chronic diseases.
Role: Co-Investigator
1 R03 AG21293-01 (Willcox) 09/30/02-08/31/03
NIH/NIA
The Genetics of Exceptional Longevity in Okinawa-Japan
Aims: To assemble pedigrees of centenarian families to assess familial contributions to exceptional survival in Okinawans and build resources for genetic studies of longevity.
Role: PI
48553 (Willcox) 07/01/01 - 06/30/02
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Warren-Williams-Richardson Fellowship
Harvard Medical School
Successful Cognitive Aging in Centenarians
Aims: To study the prevalence of and risk factors for dementia in a population-based study of centenarians.
Role: PI