What inspired you to pursue aging research?
Our population is aging rapidly, making it a public health priority to understand the factors that drive the aging process. More people are living with age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and experiencing cognitive decline. Aging research provides a unique opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to public health, and I am excited to be part of advancing this critical area of science.
In your view, what does AFAR mean to the field, and what does it mean, for you, to receive an AFAR grant now?
AFAR plays an essential role in advancing aging research by funding important studies and supporting new scientists in the field. Receiving an AFAR grant is an important milestone that recognizes my work and provides the resources I need to study biological aging and cognitive aging. This grant will help me advance my research and connect with experts who share a commitment to understanding and improving the aging process. It’s a valuable opportunity to grow in my career and make a meaningful contribution to the field.
What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
I’m most excited about the potential of my research to improve our understanding of the biological processes that drive cognitive aging. Developing protein-based aging clocks could help predict who may experience faster cognitive decline. This knowledge could enable earlier interventions, helping people maintain cognitive function, independence, and a better quality of life as they age.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
People experience different rates of cognitive decline, affecting abilities like memory and decision-making. While some people decline faster, others stay sharp for longer. My research aims to study whether biological aging can predict these different paths of cognitive decline. We’re developing “protein-based aging clocks” that use protein data to measure a person’s biological age, which can differ from their actual age. By studying these clocks, we hope to identify who might be at risk for faster cognitive decline, which could help in developing ways to slow down the process and improve quality of life.
