# Career Training in the Biology of Aging

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $485,844

## Abstract

Project Summary
The Career Training in the Biology of Aging training program provides graduate students and post-doctoral
fellows with a comprehensive, in-depth research training in aging biology, which emphasizes logical and
conceptual thinking, together with career-oriented mentoring designed to promote success in a diverse
professional landscape. We are requesting a continuation of 6 pre-doctoral and 3 post-doctoral training
positions. Aging biology has a long and proud history at the University of Michigan (UM), which is consistently
ranked as one of the top Universities in the world with institutional support for aging research that is at an elite
level. The Geriatrics Center is recognized internationally for clinical, educational, and research programs, and it
provides an outstanding setting for our Training Program. The program benefits from a Claude Pepper Older
Americans Independence Center, the Ann Arbor VA GRECC (Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical
Center), the Michigan Biology of Cardiovascular Aging program, and the Paul F. Glenn Center for Aging
Research. Our preceptors are a diverse, highly-interactive, well-funded, and creative group that span 14
different departments/programs and four schools at UM. The popularity and success of our program is
growing, as evidenced by (i) the spread of aging “tracks” and subject matter into cognate graduate programs,
(ii) the ability of us to (every year) appoint highly-qualified trainees to each of our slots, (iii) our ability to attract
young, promising faculty members to our program, and (iv) an increasing national recognition through
individual faculty awards and institutional support (e.g., the Glenn Laboratories designation and $12m
investment from the Medical School to recruit six new faculty members in aging biology). Our program has long
emphasized hypothesis-based laboratory training through creative and impactful research, and we have
proactively enriched these experiences with successful initiatives that have enhanced diversity, provided
exposure to diverse career opportunities, promoted synergy between the pre- and post-doctoral trainees. While
continuing our successful Biogerontology Research Seminars, Biology of Aging Journal Clubs, and annual
Research Symposium, we have implemented new career-oriented initiatives, involving PhD scholars who have
succeeded in career paths distinct from traditional academics, including industry and entrepreneurship. These
additions complement new efforts in mentorship including Certificate Programs that provide enhanced training
in areas such as teaching, public policy, and translational education; integrated Individual Development Plans;
summer workshops on coding, statistical rigor, and science writing; mentorship committees for our post-
doctoral trainees and junior faculty; extensive training in the responsible conduct of research; and focused
efforts to recruit and retain a diverse trainee population. We have also developed a new facul...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10144893
- **Project number:** 5T32AG000114-37
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** SCOTT PLETCHER
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $485,844
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-09-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10144893

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10144893, Career Training in the Biology of Aging (5T32AG000114-37). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10144893. Licensed CC0.

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