The Center for Healthy Aging’s Pathways T32 Training Program supports the next generation of scientists in identifying psychosocial determinants and biological pathways that regulate healthy and unhealthy aging. The program, which provides pre- and post-doctoral scientists with foundational training to integrate a broad range of concepts and analysis in their own research, has received an additional five years of funding from the National Institute on Aging.
The $2.2 million grant will support the training of 24 scientists in the field of aging over the next five years, including stipend and tuition, travel funds, and other training-related expenses.
Since the start of the program in 2016, Pathways has trained 15 graduate students from two Penn State colleges and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, as well as eight postdoctoral scientists. For these researchers, Pathways provides dual mentoring in biological and behavioral science, a research colloquium and professional development seminar, and grant-writing guidance.
“Pathways has been very successful so far. Our trainees have produced a high number of publications and funded NIH grant applications, and have been placed in tenure-track faculty positions. Additionally, they routinely engage in novel, cross-disciplinary collaborations,” said Lynn Martire, director of the Pathways T32 Training Program. “The past and future success of this program is greatly enhanced by matching funds from the University, the colleges of Health and Human Development and the Liberal Arts, and Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.”
Led by Martire and associate training director, David Almeida, the Pathways T32 Training Program, also known as Psychosocial Determinants and Biological Pathways to Healthy Aging, brings together faculty from across the College of Health and Human Development, including Human Development and Family Studies, Biobehavioral Health, and Kinesiology. It also includes collaborators from the Department of Psychology in the College of the Liberal Arts and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.