Jeffrey L. Dudycha, PhD

Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina

The Genetic Basis for the Evolutionary Divergence of Aging Much of aging research genetically modifies laboratory animals to investigate the mechanisms that underlie different aging rates. Dr. Dudycha proposes that we can also learn a great deal possibly about novel aging mechanisms by investigating the genes underlying natural variation in aging rate among a variety...

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Audrey L. Duarte, PhD

Assistant Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Psychology

The Effects of Aging on Associative Memory While the majority of research examining memory changes in healthy older adults has focused on declines in performance and related brain activity, Dr. Duarte's project will focus on the types of memories that may be preserved or even enhanced as people age. The results from these experiments...

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Heng-Jie Cheng, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Upregulation of Beta3-Adrenoceptors: A New Mechanism For Age-Dependent Decline in Cardiac Function and Beta-Adrenergic Reserve Heart disease is the number one killer and major cause of disability among Americans. Part of the problem with an aging heart is that heart cells gradually decrease their ability to contract. Dr. Cheng will test the idea that...

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Xin Chen, PhD

Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Histone Turnover During Stem Cell Homeostasis and Aging   It is becoming clear that adult stem cells help repair many organs such as muscle, brain, and heart as we age. However, stem cells are very difficult to study in most animals. Dr. Chen takes advantage of recently discovered adult stem cells in the fruit fly,...

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Stephanie J. Bryant, PhD

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado

Elucidating the Role of Biomechanical Factors in Age-related Changes in Cartilage: A Possible Risk Factor for Developing Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis - which is a degenerative joint disease - is a common disease of aging. More than 50% of people over the age of 65 are estimated to have some evidence of the disease. Abnormal mechanical forces caused by...

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