NEW YORK, NY— The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2024 AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty. The AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty program provides up to $150,000 for a one- to two-year award to junior faculty (MDs and PhDs) to conduct research that will serve as the basis for longer term research efforts on the biology of aging. The major goal of this program is to assist in the development of the careers of early career investigators committed to pursuing careers in aging research. Selected through a rigorous review process, this year’s seven recipients are exploring a range of topics at prominent research institutions nationwide:
- Priya Balasubramanian, BVSc, PhD*, Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center: Deconstructing adipocyte heterogeneity and its impact on calorie restriction mediated anti-aging benefits
- Lacy Barton, PhD, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at San Antonio: Elucidating the impact of parental age on embryonic germline development
- Yang Lyu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Rutgers University: Motivation Reward and Longevity as Influenced by Serotonin Dopamine and Metabolism
- Jonathan Nelson, PhD,** Assistant Professor, Stony Brook University: Understanding how ribosomal DNA maintenance sustains cellular longevity
- Alison Ringel, PhD, Core Member (Ragon Institute); Assistant Professor (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ragon Institute of Mass General MIT and Harvard: Targeting T-Cell Dysfunction to Delay Tissue Aging
- Carlos Giovanni Silva-Garcia, PhD, Assistant Professor, Brown University: Neuronal regulation of histone acetylation promotes longevity
- Daniel Tyrrell, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham: Understanding Gzmk+ CD8+ T Cell Development and Activity in Aging
* Underwritten fully by the WoodNext Foundation, a component fund administered by Greater Houston Community Foundation
** Underwritten fully by the Hearst Foundations
Other funders of the AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty include: AFAR Board of Directors, Anonymous, Diane Nixon, Diana Jacobs Kalman, Rose M. Badgeley Charitable Trust, The Irene Diamond Fund, The Lowell F. Johnson Foundation, and The Irving S. Wright Endowment.
“A staple of our grant portfolio since AFAR's inception, the AFAR Grant for Junior Faculty provides flexible support at a critical juncture in an early career investigator’s career when research funding is most difficult to secure,” notes Stephanie Lederman, EdM, Executive Director of AFAR. “Receiving an AFAR Grant for Junior Faculty has helped thousands of early career scientists acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to obtain larger grants as they build a body of research. This grant has helped many investigators advance the field’s understanding the basic mechanisms of aging."
Learn more about the AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty program here.
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About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For more than four decades, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing $212,500,000 to 4,460 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. In 2024, AFAR expects to provide approximately $12,270,00 to 60 investigators. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and inter-disciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org