NEW YORK, NY and SANTA BARBARA, CA -- The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2018 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowships in Aging Research. This program was developed to support postdoctoral fellows who study basic research mechanisms of aging and/or translational findings that have direct benefits to human health.

This year, eleven, one-year, $60,000 Fellowships have been awarded:

Joel Blanchard, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Blanchard will study myelin degeneration in Alzheimer's Disease and aging. Mentor: Joel Li-Huei Tsai, Ph.D.

Jorge Castillo-Quan, M.D., Ph.D., Research Fellow, Harvard University. Dr. Castillo-Quan will study pathways by which lipid signals modulate longevity, redox metabolism, and proteostasis. Mentor: Keith Blackwell, M.D., Ph.D.

Ukrae Cho, Ph.D., Research Associate, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Dr. Cho will study long-lived protein maintenance, nuclear protein homeostasis, and brain aging. Mentor: Martin Hetzer, Ph.D.

Ching-Chieh Chou, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University. Dr. Chou will study systematic dissection of the protein homeostasis network affected by aging and neurodegenerative diseases using human neuronal models. Mentor: Judith Frydman, Ph.D.

Susan Eliazer, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Eliazer will study Wnt4 as a novel therapeutic for rejuvenating muscle stem cell function during aging. Mentor: Andrew Brack, Ph.D.

Karl Miller, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. Dr. Miller will study mitochondrial retrograde signaling as a therapeutic target for senescence-associated inflammation. Mentor: Peter Adams, Ph.D.

Sean James Miller, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Miller will study the effects of Norrin on the blood-brain-barrier. Mentor: Tony Wyss-Coray, Ph.D.

Sharon Owino, Ph.D., M.S.C.R., Postdoctoral Fellow, Emory University. Dr. Owino will study the role of GPR37 in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Mentor: Randy Hall, Ph.D.

Jyung Mean Son, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Southern California. Dr. Son will study vascular pathology to treat age-related cognitive decline. Mentor: Changhan Lee, Ph.D.

Kristoffer Svensson, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, San Diego. Dr. Svensson will study protein acetylation and age-related skeletal muscle contractile dysfunction. Mentor: Simon Schenk, Ph.D.

Stephen Treaster, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Treaster will study natural experiments in aging through broad phylogenetic analysis of genomic variation. Mentor: Dr. Matthew Harris, Ph.D.

"These awards provide postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to develop independent research projects to build knowledge in the basic biology of aging that can be translated into therapies and interventions to improve and maintain health," notes Mark R. Collins, President of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research.

In 2018, this program is awarding 11 grants totaling $660,000. The awardees are selected by a committee of distinguished scientists working in the field of aging research. Since 2014, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowships in Aging Research program has provided more than $2,900,000 to 53 postdoctoral fellows nationwide.

"The Postdoctoral Fellowships help new investigators acquire the skills to build a solid foundation on which to launch successful careers and become future leaders and innovators in the field," says Stephanie Lederman, Ed.M., Executive Director of AFAR.

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About the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research - Founded by Paul F. Glenn in 1965, the mission of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research is to extend the healthy years of life through research on mechanisms of biology that govern normal human aging and its related physiological decline, with the objective of translating research into interventions that will extend healthspan with lifespan. Learn more at glennfoundation.org.

About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to support and advance healthy aging through biomedical research. Founded in 1981, AFAR has championed the cause and supported the funding of science in healthier aging and age-related medicine. To address the shortage of physicians and researchers dedicated to the science of healthier aging, AFAR funds physicians and scientists probing the fundamental mechanisms of aging, as well as specific diseases associated with aging populations at critical points throughout their careers. Learn more at afar.org or follow AFAR.org on Twitter and Facebook.