Scientific Committees

AFAR's committees are comprised of experts in aging research and related areas of research, including many past AFAR grantees.

Our Scientific Committee members volunteer their time and expertise to the AFAR review processes. Their dedication, enthusiasm and commitment is crucial to the success of AFAR's grant programs.

AFAR grants are selected through a meticulous, scientifically rigorous review process to ensure that only the most promising science receives our support.

The Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Awards in Aging
Program Advisory Committee

Kristine Yaffe, MD, Chair
University of California, San Francisco

Sara Espinoza, MD, MSc
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Thomas Gill, MD
Yale University School of Medicine

Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi, PhD, RN
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health

Brendan Lucey, MD
University of Minnesota

Donovan Maust, MD
University of Michigan

Anthony Rosen, MD, MPH
Weill Cornell Medicine

Alex Smith, MD, MS, MPH
University of California, San Francisco

Kathleen T. Unroe, MD
Indiana University School of Medicine

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty and the Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty
Selection Committee

Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD, Chair
University of Michigan

Bérénice A. Benayoun, PhD
University of Southern California

Holly Brown-Borg, PhD
University of North Dakota, School of Medicine & Health Sciences

Dudley Lamming, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Vyacheslav Labunskyy, PhD
Boston University School of Medicine

Anthony J.A. Molina, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Birgit Schilling, PhD
Buck Institute for Research on Aging

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowships in Aging Research
Selection Committee

Scott Leiser, PhD, Chair
University of Michigan Medical School

Hua Bai, PhD
Iowa State University

Jennifer Garrison, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Roarke Kamber, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Mariya Sweetwyne, PhD
University of Washington

Marc Vermulst, PhD
University of Southern California

Ming Xu, PhD
University of Minnesota

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Continuation Awards
Selection Committee

Holly Van Remmen, PhD, Chair
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Alice Kane, PhD
Institute for Systems Biology

Carlos Giovanni Silva Garcia, PhD
Brown University

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Discovery Awards
Selection Committee

Heinrich Jasper, PhD, Chair
Genentech, Inc.

Dena Dubal, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Bradley Olwin, PhD
University of Colorado, Boulder

Paul Robbins, PhD
University of Minnesota

Meng Wang, PhD
Howard Hughes Medical Institute


Diana Jacobs Kalman/AFAR Graduate Student Awards in Geroscience Selection Committee

Anna Csiszar, MD, PhD, Chair
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Jenna Bartley, PhD
University of Connecticut

Nathan Basisty, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Ann Chiao, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Constanza J. Cortes Rodriguez, PhD
University of Southern California

Suman Jayadev, MD
University of Washington

Allyson K. Palmer, MD, PhD
Mayo Clinic

Michael Stout, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

McKnight Brain Research Foundation Innovator Awards in Cognitive Aging and Memory Loss

Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD, Chair
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Rozalyn Anderson, PhD
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Rafael de Cabo, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Roy Hamilton, MD, MS
University of Pennsylvania and The McKnight Brain Research Foundation

Sanaz Sedaghat, PhD
University of Minnesota and The McKnight Brain Research Foundation

Madhav Thambisetty, MD, PhD
The McKnight Brain Research Foundation


National Scientific Advisory Council (NSAC)

Victoria Acosta-Rodriguez, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Shawn Ahmed, PhD
University of North Carolina

Iman Al-Naggar, PhD
UConn Center on Aging

Sandra Aleksic, MD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Mikhail Alexeyev, PhD
University of South Alabama

Nazif Alic, PhD
University of College London

Richard Altschuler, PhD
University of Michigan

Stephen Alway, PhD, FACSM
University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Rozalyn Anderson, PhD
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Javier Apfeld, PhD
Northeastern University

Rachel Arey, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine

Nausica Arnoult, PhD
University of Colorado, Boulder

Nicole Ashpole, PhD
University of Mississippi, School of Pharmacy

Steven Austad, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Hua Bai, PhD
Iowa State University

Darren Baker, PhD
Mayo Clinic

Joshua Baker, MD, MSC
University of Pennsylvania

Jenna Bartley, PhD
University of Connecticut

Nathan Basisty, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Joseph Baur, PhD
University of Pennsylvania

Sam Beck, PhD
Boston University

Isabel Beerman, PhD
National Institutes of Health

Daniel Belsky, PhD
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Bérénice A. Benayoun, PhD
University of Southern California

Narayan Bhat, PhD
Medical University of South Carolina

Paula Bickford, PhD
University of South Florida

Gal Bitan, PhD
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Andrea Bodnar, PhD
Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute

Miguel Brieno-Enriquez, MD, PhD
Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation

Susan Brooks Herzog, PhD
University of Michigan

Robert Brosh, Jr., PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Holly Brown-Borg, PhD
University of North Dakota, School of Medicine & Health Sciences

Anne Brunet, PhD
Stanford University

Abigail Buchwalter, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Thomas Buford, PhD, FACSM, FAHA, FGSA
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Christin Burd, PhD
The Ohio State University

Kristopher Burkewitz, PhD
Vanderbilt University

Jason Butler, PhD
University of Florida

Denise Cai, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dongsheng Cai, MD, PhD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Kenneth Campellone, PhD
University of Connecticut

Cathy Carlson, DVM, PhD
University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine

S. Thomas Carmichael, MD, PhD
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

James Carson, PhD
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Greg Cartee, PhD
University of Michigan

Claudia Cavadas, PhD
The University of Coimbra Portugal

Joe Chakkalakal, PhD
Duke University

Abha Chauhan PhD
New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities

Danica Chen, PhD
University of California, Berkeley

Zheng Chen, PhD
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Vera Chesnokova, PhD
Cedars Sinai

Ann Chiao, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

James Chrobak, PhD
University of Connecticut

Hattie Chung, PhD
Yale University School of Medicine

Dennis Clegg, PhD
University of California, Santa Barbara

Harvey Jay Cohen, MD
Duke University Medical Center

Lucio Comai, PhD
University of Southern California

Shannon Conley, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center

Bruno Conti, PhD
San Diego Biomedical Research Institute

Constanza Cortes Rodriguez, PhD
University of Southern California

Eileen Crimmins, PhD
University of Southern California

Carlos Cruchaga, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine

Anna Csiszar, MD, PhD
University of Oklahoma

Sara Czaja, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine

Weiwei Dang, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine

Lindsay De Biase, PhD
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Rafael de Cabo, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Joao Pedro De Magalhaes, PhD
University of Birmingham

Abbe de Vallejo, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Ferenc Deak, MD, PhD
Augusta University

Joris Deelen
Leiden University Medical Center

Lucian Del Priore, MD, PhD
Yale University

Fabio Demontis, PhD
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Carlos Manilio Diaz Garcia, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Campus

Andrew Dillin, PhD
University of California, Berkeley

Breno Satler Diniz, MD, PhD
UConn Health

Zhixun Dou, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Peter Douglas, PhD
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Damian Dowling, PhD
School of Biological Sciences, Monash University

Oliver Dreesen, PhD
Skin Research Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore

Dena Dubal, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Jarrod Dudakov, PhD
Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Gustavo Duque, MD, PhD
McGill University

Michelle Erickson, PhD
University of Washington

Paul Eslinger, PhD
Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Nir Eynon, PhD
Monash University

James Fadel, PhD
University of South Carolina School of Medicine

Jessica Faul, PhD
University of Michigan

Roger Fielding, PhD
JMHNRC Tufts University

Els Fieremans, PhD
New York University School of Medicine

Caleb Finch, PhD
University of Southern California

Toren Finkel, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Alfred Fisher, MD, PhD
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Jerome Fleg, MD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/NIH

Urban Friberg
Likoping University

Bertrand Friguet, PhD
Sorbonne University, France

Bess Frost, PhD
Brown University

Veronica Galvan, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Jose Garcia, MD, PhD
University of Washington

George Garinis, PhD
University of Crete

Michael Garratt, PhD
University of Otago

Jennifer Garrison, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Arjumand Ghazi, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Jadwiga Giebultowicz, PhD
Oregon State University

Aidan Gilchrist, PhD
University of California, Davis

Emily Goldberg, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Todd Golde, MD, PhD
Emory University School of Medicine

Mitzi Gonzales, PhD, ABPP-CN
Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Susana Gonzalo, PhD
Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Helen Goodridge, PhD
Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Jorg Goronzy, MD, PhD
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Sciences

Kim Green, PhD
University of California, Irvine

Eric Greer, PhD
Washington University in Saint Louis

Sarah Greising, PhD
University of Minnesota

Kristin Gribble, PhD
Marine Biological Laboratory

Ann Griffith, PhD
University of Texas Health Science Center

Aditi Gurkar, PhD
University of Pittsburgh

Malene Hansen, PhD
The Buck Institute

Itamar Harel, PhD
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Matthew Hart, PhD
The University of Oklahoma Health Campus

Laura Haynes, PhD
University of Connecticut Health Center

Sijia He, PhD
UT Health San Antonio

Denise Head, PhD
Washington University

Cristal Hill, PhD
University of Southern California

Jason Hinman, MD, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles

Jan Hoeijmakers
Erasmus University Medical Center

Eric Howard, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center

Susan Howlett, PhD
Dalhousie University

Ao-Lin Hsu, PhD
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Xudong Huang, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Karen Hubbard, PhD
The City College of New York

Maik Huettemann, PhD
Wayne State School of Medicine

Christina Hugenschmidt, PhD
Wake Forest School of Medicine

Adam Hughes, PhD
University of Utah

Bradley Hyman, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Yuji Ikeno, MD, PhD
UT Health San Antonio

Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine

Carlos Isales, MD
Augusta University

Young Charles Jang, PhD
Emory School of Medicine

Heinrich Jasper, PhD
Genentech, Inc.

Suman Jayadev, MD
University of Washington

Arun Jayraman, PT, PhD
Northwestern University

Kailiang Jia, MD, PhD
Florida Atlantic University

Leanne Jones, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Diana Jurk, PhD
Mayo Clinic

Catherine Kaczorowski, PhD
University of Michigan

Roarke Kamber, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Alice Kane, PhD
Institute for Systems Biology

Chanhee Kang, PhD
Seoul National University

Jan Karlseder, PhD
Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Jason Karpac, PhD
Texas A&M University Health Science Center

Prasad Katakam, MD, PhD
Tulane University

Kimberly Keil-Stietz, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mark Kindy, PhD
University of South Florida

James Kirkland, MD, PhD
Cedars Sinai

Mark Kleinman, MD
Eastern Tennessee State University

Adam Konopka, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ron Korstanje, PhD
The Jackson Laboratory

Deborah Kristan, PhD
California State University San Marcos

George Kuchel, MD
University of Connecticut Health Center

Folkert Kuipers, PhD
University Medical Center Groningen

Janine Kwapis, PhD
Pennsylvania State University

Oh Sung Kwon, PhD
University of Connecticut

Vyacheslav Labunskyy, PhD
Boston University School of Medicine

Diana Laird, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Patrick Lajoie, PhD
The University of Western Ontario

Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
University of California San Francisco

Dudley Lamming, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Thomas Lang, PhD
University of California, San Francisco

Louis Lapierre, PhD
Université de Moncton

Jan LaRocque, PhD
Georgetown University

Matthew LaVoie, PhD
University of Florida

Elaine Choung-Hee Lee, PhD
University of Connecticut

Frank Lee, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania

Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, PhD
University of Florida

Scott Leiser, PhD
University of Michigan

Sean Leng, MD, PhD
Johns Hopkins University

Rodney Levine, MD, PhD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH

Olin Liang, PhD
Brown University

Jonathan Lin, MD, PhD
Stanford University

Su-Ju Lin, PhD
University of California, Davis

Jonathan Lin, MD, PhD
Stanford University

Richard Loeser, Jr., MD
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sreemathi Logan, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center

Brendan Lucey, MD
University of Minnesota

Jianyuan Luo, PhD
Peking University Health Science Center

Yao-Ying Ma, MD, PhD
Indiana University

Kathy Magnusson, DVM, PhD
Oregon State University

Diane Mahoney, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN
Massachusetts General Hospital

William Mair, PhD
Harvard School of Public Health

Alexei Maklakov
University of East Anglia

David Marcinek, PhD
University of Washington Medical Center

Ronen Marmorstein, PhD
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Gad Marshall, MD
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Michal Masternak, PhD
University of Central Florida

Mark McCormick, PhD
University of New Mexico Health Science Center

Louise McCullough, MD, PhD, FAHA
UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School

Meghan McGee-Lawrence, PhD
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Melanie McReynolds, PhD
Pennsylvania State University

Mitch McVey, PhD
Tufts University

Raul Mendez, PhD
Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)

Jerome Mertens, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Kai Mesa, PhD
Princeton University

Benjamin Miller, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Dana Miller, PhD
University of Washington

Sofiya Milman, MD, MS
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Anthony Molina, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Darcie Moore, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

David Morgan, PhD
Michigan State University

Kendall Moseley, MD
Johns Hopkins University

Kevin Murach, PhD
University of Arkansas

Shin Murakami, PhD
Touro University-California

M. Paul Murphy, PhD
University of Kentucky

Radhika Muzumdar, MD
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

James Nelson, PhD
UT Health at San Antonio

John Newman, MD, PhD
Buck Institute/UCSF

Anne Newman, MD, MPH
University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

Sailendra Nichenametla, BVSc & AH, MS
Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science

Laura Niedernhofer, MD, PhD
University of Minnesota

Kristy Nielson, PhD
Marquette University

Janko Nikolich, MD, PhD
University of Arizona College of Medicine

Nicole Noren Hooten, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Sarah Ocanas, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Bradley Olwin, PhD
University of Colorado Boulder

Patricia Opresko, PhD
University of Pittsburgh

Alessandro Ori, PhD
Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI)

Miranda Orr, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis

David Orren ,PhD
University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Mary Ann Ottinger, PhD
University of Houston

Pal Pacher, MD, PhD, FAPS, FAHA, FACC
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health

Allyson Palmer, MD, PhD
Mayo Clinic

Vassilios Papadopoulos, DPharm, PhD
University of Southern California

Amy Pasquinelli, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Hemal Patel, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Shahaf Peleg, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Robert Petersen, PhD
Central Michigan University

Daniel Peterson, PhD
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science

Andrew Pickering, PhD
UT Health Houston McGovern Medical School

Robert Pignolo, MD, PhD
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

Scott Pletcher, PhD
University of Michigan

Daniel Promislow, DPhil
Tufts University

Jacob Raber, PhD
Oregon Health & Science University

Peter Rabinovitch, MD, PhD
University of Washington

Irfan Rahman, PhD
University of Rochester Medical Center

Jon Ramsey, PhD
University of California, Davis

Thomas Rando, MD, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles

Emilie Reas, PhD
University of California, San Diego

P. Hemachandra Reddy, PhD
Texas Tech University Health Science Center

May Reed, MD
University of Washington School of Medicine

Jalees Rehman, MD
University of Illinois College of Medicine

Elizabeth Rhea, PhD
University of Washington

Michael Rich, MD
Washington University School of Medicine

Arlan Richardson, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center

Paul Robbins, PhD
University of Minnesota

Jack Rogers, PhD
Harvard Medical School

Jason Roh, MD, MHS
Harvard Medical School

Noga Ron-Harel, PhD
Technion

Marianna Sadagurski, PhD
Wayne State University

Martin Sadowski, MD, PhD
New York University School of Medicine

Hiroshi Saito, PhD
University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Adam Salmon, PhD
Barshop Institute

Andrew Samuelson, PhD

Ryo Sanabrio, PhD
University of Southern California

Nanette Santoro, MD
University of Colorado School of Medicine

Deepa Sathyaseelan, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Nathalie Saurat, PhD
Monash University

Marissa Schafer, PhD
Mayo Clinic

Birgit Schilling, PhD
Buck Institute for Research on Aging

Bjorn Schumacher
University of Cologne

Sanaz Sedaghat, PhD
University of Minnesota

Michael Seidman, PhD
Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology/National Institute on Aging/NIH

Colin Selman, PhD
University of Glasgow

Payel Sen, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH

Sudha Sharma, PhD
Howard University

Paul Shiels, PhD
University of Glasgow

Kosaku Shinoda, PhD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Barbara Shukitt-Hale, PhD
USDA, HNRCA at Tufts University

Robert Signer, PhD
University of California, San Diego

Carlos Giovanni Silva Garcia, PhD
Brown University

Meharvan Singh, PhD
Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago

Shinichi Someya, PhD
University of Florida, College of Medicine

William Sonntag, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Cindy Sprenger, PhD
University of Washington

Marlene Starr, PhD
University of Kentucky

Jennifer Stern, PhD
University of Arizona College of Medicine

Derek Stirewalt, MD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer

Michael Stout, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Peter Sudman, PhD
University of California, Berkeley

Patrick Sullivan, PhD
The University of Kentucky Chandler College of Medicine

Nathalie Sumien, PhD
University of North Texas Health Science Center

George Sutphin, PhD
University of Arizona

Mariya Sweetwyne, PhD
University of Washington

Karen Swisshelm, PhD
University of Colorado Denver

George Taffet, MD
Houston Methodist Hospital

Stefano Tarantini, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Marc Tatar, PhD
Brown University

Nektarios Tavernarakis, PhD
Medical School, University of Crete

J. Andrew Taylor, PhD
Harvard Medical School/Spaulding Hospital Cambridge

Tamar Tchkonia, PhD
Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University

Christoph Thaiss, PhD
Stanford University

LaDora Thompson, PhD
Boston University

John Tower, PhD
University of Southern California

Bruce Troen, MD
University of Kansas School of Medicine

Li-Huei Tsai, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD
Georgetown University Medical Center

Dennis Turner, MD
Duke University Medical Center

Duygu Ucar, PhD
The Jackson Laborary

Archana Unnikrishnan, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center

Silvan Urfer, Dr. med. vet.
University of Washington

Dario Riccardo Valenzano, PhD
Leibniz Institute on Aging

Holly Van Remmen, PhD
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Marc Vermulst, MSc, PhD
University of Southern California

Ruben Vidal, PhD
Indiana University School of Medicine

Jan Vijg, PhD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Meng Wang, PhD
HHMI Janelia Research Campus

Xin Wang, PhD
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Gordon Warren, PhD
Georgia State University

Debra Waters, PhD
University of Otago

Ashley Webb, PhD
The Buck Institute

Noah Weisleder, PhD
University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Fletcher White, PhD
Indiana University School of Medicine

Bradley Willcox, MD
University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

John Woodard, PhD
Wayne State University

Lindsay Wu, PhD
UNSW Sydney

Rui Xiao, PhD
University of Florida

Ming Xu PhD
University of Minnesota

Andriy Yabluchanskiy, MD, PhD
University of Oklahoma Health Science Center

Dong Yan, PhD
Duke University School of Medicine

Omer Yilmaz, MD, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Andrew Yoo, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine

Jessica Young, PhD
University of Washington

Chuankai Zhou, PhD
Buck Institute

Shuanhu Zhou, PhD
The Shu-Tung and Alice Li Foundation

Zhongjun Zhou, PhD
School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong

Nicholas Ziats, PhD
Case Western Reserve University

Past Scientific Committees