NEW YORK, NY--The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), with support from the Irene Diamond Fund, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2018 Irene Diamond Fund/AFAR Postdoctoral Transition Awards in Aging:
- Bumsoo Ahn, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Dr. Ahn will study HM01 administration as a therapeutic strategy for age-associated skeletal muscle weakness. Mentor: Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D.
- Jenna Bartley, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Dr. Bartley will study the effect of metformin on influenza vaccine responses and T cell function in the elderly. Mentor: George Kuchel, M.D.
- John Collins, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Collins will study SIRT6 as a novel therapeutic target in aging and osteoarthritis. Mentor: Richard Loeser, M.D.
- Troy Cross, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mayo Clinic. Dr. Cross will study the neural origins of exercise intolerance in the aging human: implications for widening the healthspan. Mentor: Bruce Johnson, Ph.D.
- Shelli Farhadian, M.D., Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Farhadian will study neuroinflammation in older adults with HIV using a single cell approach. Mentor: Serena Spudich, M.D., M.A.
- Amy Gleichman, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Gleichman will study astrocytic regulation of synapse formation and elimination in aged mice after stroke. Mentor: S. Thomas Carmichael, M.D., Ph.D.
- Claire Gustafson, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University. Dr. Gustafson will study t follicular helper cells in mucosal immune aging. Mentor: Jorg Goronzy, M.D., Ph.D.
- Emilie Reas, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Diego. Dr. Reas will study the association between blood-brain barrier breakdown and brain microstructure in mild cognitive impairment. Mentor: Linda McEvoy, Ph.D.
The Irene Diamond Fund/AFAR Program distinguishes itself from other postdoctoral fellowship programs by providing full-time research training and flexible and portable grant support to senior postdoctoral fellows and providing leverage to negotiate for junior faculty appointments and independent research programs either at their own or other institutions.
As the world's population over the age of 65 is growing an unprecedented rate, AFAR's support of solid age-related science is more critical than ever. "By giving these postdoctoral fellows this extra boost at a critical moment in their career path, AFAR is helping create a research pipeline that is essential to advancing better therapies for age-related diseases and discoveries that will help us all live healthier, longer," notes AFAR Executive Director Stephanie Lederman, Ed.M.
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About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to support and advance healthy aging through biomedical research. Founded in 1981, AFAR has championed the cause and supported the funding of science in healthier aging and age-related medicine. To address the shortage of physicians and researchers dedicated to the science of healthier aging, AFAR funds physicians and scientists probing the fundamental mechanisms of aging, as well as specific diseases associated with aging populations at critical points throughout their careers. Learn at http://www.afar.org or follow AFAR.org on Twitter and Facebook.