2007 Grant Recipients

AFAR Research Grant Program

Diane C. Cabelof, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Wayne State University: "The aged colon: impact of endogenous damage and proliferative status on chromosome breakage"

Sic Lung Chan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida: "A novel stress response ubiquitin-domain protein counteracts mutant a-synuclein toxicity: a therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease"

Gregory David, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, New York University School of Medicine: "Function and Modulation of Chromatin Modifiers in Senescence and Aging"

Yuqing Dong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Clemson University: "Characterization of the role of C. elegans host cell factor (HCF-1) in life span regulation associated with DAF-16 and SIR-2.1"

Peter Robin Hiesinger, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas: "Unsaturated Fatty Acid Regulation of Neurotransmission in Aging Neurons"

J. Kent Leach, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis: "Age-related differences in the osteogenic potential of adipose derived stem cells"

Yilun Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Yale University School of Medicine: "Defining the biochemical functions of Rothmund-Thomson Syndrome helicase RecQ4"

Ilhem Massaoudi, Ph.D., Research Assistant Scientist, Oregon Health and Science University: "Impact of immune senescence on varicella virus infection, latency and reactivation in aged rhesus macaques"

Robert P. Rhoads, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Arizona: "Impact of endocrine-related changes with aging on satellite cell-induced angiogenesis"

Michael F. Salvatore, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center: "Role of tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation in age-related bradykinesia"

James E. Thompson, M.D., Research Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania: "Murine model of the anemia of aging and the myelodysplastic syndromes"

Jian Yang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of South Alabama College of Medicine: "A Novel Genetic Mouse Model of Chronic Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) in Liver"

Yi Zuo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz: "Remodeling of aging neuromuscular junctions induced by Schwann cells"

AFAR Affiliate Research Grant Program

AFAR Southeast Affiliate

Mark A. Eckert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Medical University of South Carolina: "Brain Imaging of Age-related Changes in Speech Recognition"

Mauricio Rojas, M.D., Assistant Professor, Emory University: "Effects of aged extracellular matrix on stem cell differentiation"

Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Alzheimer's Disease

Yaniv Assaf, Ph.D., Lecturer, Tel Aviv University: "Hippocampus characterization of mice over-expressing APP and APOE3/4 using multi-dimensional MRI"

Olivier Boutaud, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University Medical Center: "Quantification of the relative abundance of secreted APP alpha and beta as a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease"

Chad Anthony Dickey, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of South Florida: "The Role of Re-folding Chaperones in Tau Aggregation"

Isabella A. Graef, M.D., Assistant Professor, Stanford University: "Harnessing endogenous proteins to prevent and clear pathogenic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease"

Indu Kheterpal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pennington Biomedical Research Center: "Development of a Mass Spectrometic Screening Assay to Characterize Modifiers of A-beta Amyloid Aggregation in Alzheimer's disease"

Grace Stutzmann, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Rosalind Franklin University: "Contributions of early calcium signaling dysregulations to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis"

Fannie E. Rippel Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards on Gender Differences in Aging

Jennifer S. Lee, M.D., Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis: "Endogenous Sex Hormone and Genetic Risk Factors for Stroke in a Biracial Cohort"

Rebecca C. Thurston, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: "Adiposity and Menopausal Hot Flashes Among Midlife Women"

Julie Martin Mid-Career Awards in Aging Research

Joseph Lustgarten, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Mayo Clinic Arizona: "Evaluation of High accumulation of T regulatory cells in aging and immune dysfunction"

Elly Nedivi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: "Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Aging"

Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award

Rolf Bodmer, Ph.D., Professor, The Burnham Institute: "Genetic Control of Cardiac Aging"

Eduardo Nunes Chini, M.D., Ph.D., Consultant, Mayo Clinic, School of Medicine: "The role of the CD38/NAD glycohydrolase as a regulator of longevity"

Kathleen Collins, Ph.D., Professor, University of California, Berkeley: "Telomerase Regulation as a Cause of Human Hemtopoietic Stem Cell Aging"

Matt Kaeberlein, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Washington: "Sensory Mechanisms of Dietary Restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans"

Paul B. Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research

Randall Bateman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Washington University School of Medicine: "A-beta and Proteomic Analysis of CSF in AD and Aging"

Julie Bynum, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Dartmouth Medical School: "Improving the Quality of Health Systems for the Very Old"

Sascha Dublin, M.D., Ph.D., Acting Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Medicine: "Pharmacoepidemiology in the Elderly: Medications, Pneumonia Risk and Confounding"

Roee Holtzer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine: "Predictors of Gait and Falls in Aging: Linking Cognitive Control to Genes"

Angela Jefferson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Medicine: "Cardiac integrity and the Aging Brain"

Kimberly Johnson, M.D., Assistant Professor, Duke University Medical Center: "Organizational Variability and Racial Disparities in Hospice Use"

Kejal Kantarci, M.D., Assistant Professor, Mayo Clinic Rochester: "¹H MRS markers of MCI Syndromes and Common Dementias"

Manjula Kurella, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine: "Mechanisms of Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Kidney Disease"

Nicolas Musi, M.D., Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio: "Role of IKK/lkB/NFkB Signaling in Insulin Resistance in Aging Muscle"

Neil Segal, M.D., Assistant Professor, University of Iowa College of Medicine: "Optimizing Mobility in Elders with Knee Osteoarthritis: Gait and Power Training"

Lihong Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Duke University Medical Center: "FMRI: Prediction of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Depression"

Paul B. Beeson Career Development Awards in Aging Research (Ireland)

Patricia M. Kearney, MB BCh BAO, Ph.D., Clinical Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin: "Biopsychosocial Factors and Vascular Disease in an Ageing Cohort of Irish Adults"

Bernadette McGuinness, M.D., MRCP, Research Fellow/Specialist Registrar, Queen's University of Belfast: "Platelet beta-secretase in Mild Cognitive Impairment"

Hartford/AFAR Collaborative Research Award

(This award is only open to alumni recipients of the Beeson Career Development award.)

Wes Ely, M.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Helen Hoenig, M.D., Duke University Medical Center: "The Cognitive and Physical Rehabilitation of Survivors of Critical Illness: A Randomized Clinical Trial of In-home Rehabilitation"

Martin Sadowski, M.D., New York University School of Medicine, and David Holtzman, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine: "Peptide Mimetic Therapeutic Agents for Blocking the Apolipoprotein E/A-beta Interaction"

Scott Small, M.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Frank Longo, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University Medical Center: "Ameliorating Age-related Memory Decline"

Laura Dugan, M.D., University of California, San Diego, and Jeremy Walston, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: "Systemic Inflammation and Central Nervous System Dysfunction: A Mechanistic and Translational Pilot"

Joshua Hare, M.D., University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Michael Schwarzschild, M.D.: "A Unified Hypothesis on the Protective Potential of Urate in Aging Hearts and Brains"

Ellison Medical Foundation/AFAR Senior Postdoctoral Fellows

Yu-Chen Chien, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: "Molecular Mechanisms of Cellular Senescence Phenotype in Mice"

Juebin Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Research Associate, University of Tennessee Health Science Center: "Mechanisms of White Matter Microstrctural Changes in Aging Brain"

Stefan Taubert, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco: "Functions and genetic interactions of the mediator subunit MDT-15, a conserved transcriptional coregulator integrating energy metabolism and detoxification"

Fei Wang, Ph.D., Research Associate, Baylor College of Medicine: "FOXO Activation and Degradation Regulated by SIRT1 and SIRT2"

Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program

Emily Adams, Boston University School of Medicine

John Shaan Alli, SUNY-Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Alisha Amann, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences

Jane Andrews, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Aaron Ashton, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Ronald Auer, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Ehsan Azimi, Medical College of Wisconsin

Harita Bandlamudi, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Deeksha Bansal, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Anshuman Bansal, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Anna Beck, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Mark Bicket, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Tudor Borza, University of Michigan

Michyla Bowerson, University of Michigan

Kevin Brazill, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern Universitybr /> Elizabeth Breuer, Case Western Reserve University

Jidith Briant, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Renee Buchanan, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Laura Cappelli, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Charlotte Carlson, University of California, San Francisco

Oriana Chen, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Isabella Chen, Jefferson Medical College

Amanda Cheung, University of South Carolina School of Medicine

Anthony Chyou, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Jordan Cloyd, University of California, San Francisco

Michelle Contreras, University of California, San Diego

Theresa Cruthird-Rudd, Eastern Virginia Medical School

Claudia del Busto, University of Michigan

Min Deng, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

Darshe Edge, University of Texas Medical Branch

Lana Elpert, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Navid Ezra, University of California, Los Angeles

Jessica Flores, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Gina Fujikami, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Katelyn Gamson, University of California, San Francisco

Dane Genther, University of Michigan

Nava Geula, University of Michigan

Courtney Goodwin, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Antonio Graham, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic MEdicine, Georgia Campus

J. Tasker Gundy, Weill Medical College of Cornell Unviersity

David Hamel, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Michael Hanes, Drexel University College of Medicine

Bahati Harden, Unviersity of Mississippi Medical Center

Jacob Harter, University of California, San Diego

Liesel Haskell, University of Toledo College of Medicine

James Henry, University of California, San Diego

Olga Hernandez, Des Moines University

Douglas Hill, Emory University School of Medicine

Lana Hirai, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Amy Hsu, Brown Medical School

Hannu Huhdanpaa, University of Michigan

Neelum Jeste, University of California, San Diego

Ho-Yann Jong, University of Michigan

Kushal Karnik, Medical College of Virginia/VCU

Jaclyn Kasnicki, University at Buffalo

Michael Kaufmann, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Julie King, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Michael Kingsley, University of Michigan

Phebe Ko, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Mabel Ko, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Gerhardt Konig, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Elizabeth Kwo, Harvard Medical School

Amy Ledgerwood, University at Buffalo

John Leikauf, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Robert Levine, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine

Hao Liang, Case Western Reserve University

Vicki Lung, University of California, Los Angeles

Nithya Mani, Jefferson Medical College

Laura Marrone, University of California, San Diego

Mallory McClester, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Juan Carlos Mendez, University of California, San Diego

Mallika Mendu, Yale University Medical School

Alexander Millman, Mount Sinai Medical School

Timothy Mitchell, New York Medical College

David Montag, University of Pittsburgh

Roberto Moreno, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Bernadette Nazario-Lopez, University of Puerto Rico

Garry Ng, University of Michigan

Christopher Nguyen, University of California, Los Angles

Julie Nissimov, University of California, Irvine

Shirley Osadebe, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio

Christine Palermo, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Sun Hee Park, Rush Medical College

Melanie Payanal, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Javier Perez-Rodriguez, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

James Pirruccello, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Timothy Poulton, University of Michigan

Nitya Prabhakar, University of Michigan

John Prensner, University of Michigan

Alison Rapoport, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Deepthi Reddy, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Michaela Restivo, State University of New York Stony Brook School of Medicine

Matt Rischall, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Fareed Riyaz, University of Michigan

Joseph Romano, Virginia Commonwealth University

Anthony Rosen, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Miri Rosen, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Eric Rosenberger, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Michael Rudolph, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Jonathon Russell, Case Western Reserve University

Michael Ruzek, UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine

Sudip Saha, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Gregory Sahlem, University at Buffalo

Catherine Sanders, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Omar Santana, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine

Alana Sasaki, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Bethany Schroeder, Unviersity of Michigan

Matthew Schultzel, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

Neda Isabel Sedora-Roman, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus

Emily Seifert, Emory University

Yang Shen, Pritzker School of Medicine the University of Chicago

Helen Shi, University of California San Diego

Eugenie Shieh, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Elim Shih, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Deanna Sikorski, University of Michigan

Ashley Smith, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

Amanda Smith, Creighton University School of Medicine

Andrew Smith, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Caitlin Snow, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Kara Stavros, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Beth Stepanczuk, Case Western Reserve University

Elissa Stern, University of Pittsburgh

Satre Stuelke, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Tracee Suetsugu, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Stephanie Tarkowski, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Kristin Taylor, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Anna Taylor-Shih, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Markell Trinh, Howard University College of Medicine

Yana Turovskaya, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Matthew Vasievich, University of Michigan

Roger Velasquez, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Maria Voznesensky, University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Brian Vu, Texas A&M University Health Science Center

Elizabeth Wahl, Yale School of Medicine

Jill Waters, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Matthew Watto, Boston University School of Medicine

Matthew Wilson, Case Western Reserve University

Meraf Wolle, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Florence Wu, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Wenfei Xie, University of Michigan

Ghiam Yamin, University of California, Los Angeles

Priscilla Yee, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

James Yeh, Boston University School of Medicine

Lindsey Yourman, University of California, San Francisco

Valerie Zamudio, Universidad Central del Caribe

Howie (Haopeng) Zheng, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Shu-Han Zhu, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

AFAR-GE Healthcare Junior Investigator Award for Excellence in Biomarker Research

Stuart M. Chambers, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine

Carolina Ibáñez-Ventoso, PhD, Rutgers University

Krishnamurthy Janakiraman, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ying Liang, PhD, University of Kentucky