# Mid-Career Research and Mentorship in Metabolic Aging

> **NIH NIH K24** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $186,427

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Dysregulation of glucose and lipid metabolism are central features of human aging and play major roles in the
highly morbid cardiometabolic conditions prevalent among older adults, including cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, and congestive heart failure. Non-esterified, or free, fatty acids (NEFAs) have long been implicated
as central actors in impaired metabolism and may underlie many of the adverse effects of metabolic aging,
including cognitive decline and frailty.
Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, a general internist, has undertaken broad-based epidemiological research with a
particular focus on metabolic determinants of cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes among older adults. This
research has largely centered on the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), an NHLBI- and NIA-funded cohort
study of 5,888 adults aged 65 and older from four U.S. communities, and the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory
Study (GEMS), a randomized trial that conducted additional dementia follow-up in a subset of CHS
participants. Dr. Mukamal serves as a member of the CHS Steering Committee and chairs its Diabetes
Working Group. Dr. Mukamal’s ongoing research support (R01-AG-053325) funds measurement of total,
individual and post-glucose-load NEFAs in the unique CHS cohort. His recent work has demonstrated that
total NEFAs are associated with cognitive decline and adjudicated dementia in CHS. Supported by two recent
supplements – one to support an underrepresented minority scientist whom Dr. Mukamal mentors and a
second to support ADRD research in response to NOT-AG-18-008 – Dr. Mukamal is now actively investigating
the role of individual and post-load NEFAs in dementia and frailty in CHS and elsewhere.
Dr. Mukamal has a long, consistent, and distinguished track record of mentoring young scientists, serving in
major educational roles across a variety of settings and having received formal recognition for his outstanding
research mentorship. A Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research would enable him to
expand and deepen his commitment to mentoring by reducing his administrative responsibilities and providing
direct support for focused, intensive mentoring activities that specifically relate to metabolic impairment in
aging. In addition, this award would enable Dr. Mukamal to further develop his own career and gain
knowledge, familiarity, and expertise in domains crucial to the further extension of his work into dementia, such
as advances in cognitive assessment and neuroimaging. In conjunction with the outstanding environments for
training and mentoring at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard TH
Chan School of Public Health, this award will enable Dr. Mukamal to expand and improve his mentoring
experience and, as a result, help to train the next generation of investigators in metabolic aging.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9871025
- **Project number:** 1K24AG065525-01
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** KENNETH Jay MUKAMAL
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $186,427
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9871025

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9871025, Mid-Career Research and Mentorship in Metabolic Aging (1K24AG065525-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9871025. Licensed CC0.

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