# Short Term Aging-Related Research Program

> **NIH NIH T35** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2023 · $85,574

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Given the aging of the population and concerns over the physician-scientist workforce, it is imperative to
inculcate the next generation of physicians with the desire to understand and improve care for older adults
through pursuit of scientific discovery in the basic, clinical, and social sciences. The purpose of this application
is to renew support for the successful Short-Term Aging-related Research (STAR) T35 program which has
provided summer training in basic, clinical, and social science research for medical students at the Pritzker
School of Medicine to inspire and prepare them to pursue careers in aging research for the past 15 years. The
STAR T35 program supports a culture of scientific inquiry throughout the school, and inspires its trainees to
pursue additional years for research significantly more often than their peers. The proposed program will
continue to be led by Dr. David Meltzer, a physician-economist who is a member of the National Academy of
Medicine and an NIA-funded investigator, including PI of an NIA funded P30 Center on Healthy Aging
Behaviors and Longitudinal Investigations (CHABLIS), and Dr. Vineet Arora, Dean for Medical Education at
Pritzker and an NIH funded researcher who studies sleep in older persons. They will be joined by two
accomplished assistant directors, including Dr. Stacie Levine, Section Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Care,
and Dr. Sangram Sisodia, an NIA-funded basic science researcher in Alzheimer’s disease. Building on the
established processes of the successful long-running Pritzker Summer Research Program (SRP) and the
Scholarship and Discovery (S&D) 4-year research infrastructure, we request funding to appoint ten T35
sponsored students each year with an additional ten supported by Pritzker. A cadre of nationally prominent
NIH-funded principal investigators in basic, clinical, and social science relevant to aging who together have
more than $23 million in funding will mentor individual trainees. In addition, trainees will take part in didactic
instruction in responsible conduct of research, statistics, clinical geriatrics and an innovative course called
Scholars in Translational Aging Research Training (START) Program which will expose them to concepts in
biology, clinical geriatrics, and the social sciences that are central to the study of aging. For nearly 15 years,
the START course has consistently increased interest in aging research careers among participants (both NIA
T35 funded and other). Through rigorous evaluation and long-term tracking, we will be able to determine if
participants show a greater propensity to continue pursuing research as a career. This program supports the
imperative to inculcate the next generation of physicians with the desire to understand and improve care for
older adults through pursuit of scientific discovery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10628808
- **Project number:** 2T35AG029795-16
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Vineet Arora
- **Activity code:** T35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $85,574
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2008-05-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10628808

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10628808, Short Term Aging-Related Research Program (2T35AG029795-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10628808. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*