Advancing Research
by funding Grant Programs and Fellowships
Driving Innovation
by guiding studies such as the SuperAgers Initiative and the FAST Initiative.
Furthering the Field
by supporting the infrastructure of three NIA Initiatives and leading the Amplifying Geroscience Initiative.
Top Breakthroughs driven by AFAR Experts
Delaying Disease by Targeting Aging
Saving Costs by Extending Healthspan
What are the Hallmarks of Aging?
What is Geroscience?
What is the Longevity Dividend?
Dr. Leah Acker is a practicing neurosurgical anesthesiologist and scientist at Duke University who leads the Anesthesiology, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Engineering Research (ACkER) Lab. The ACkER Lab is rethinking how to protect the aging brain before, during, and after surgery. Her multi-disciplinary team studies how the brain, heart, and immune system communicate to support recovery and long-term brain health. Using wearable sensors, brainwave recordings, and gentle, noninvasive nerve stimulation, they explore how small, repeated bouts of inflammation may quietly accelerate cognitive aging—a phenomenon called “the inflammatory hangover”—and how to prevent it. By translating discoveries in brain–body communication into practical tools, the ACkER Lab aims to help older adults recover from physiological stress more quickly, think more clearly, and maintain independence longer.
