KARE co-principal investigators Josh Guggenheimer, PhD; Marcie Myers, PhD; and Katherine Campbell, PhD (left to right)
St. 做厙輦⑹ has been awarded a $1.98 million grant by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health, to continue funding the Katies for Aging Research and Equity (KARE) program for another five years.
Continued NIA funding confirms the importance of the work of the KARE grant project both in terms of the value of Geroscience research for our society and in recognition of tremendous benefits of participating in mentored, collaborative research for students, said Denise Baird, PhD, co-provost and senior vice president for academic operations and student success.
KARE was initially funded with a $1.5 million, five-year grant from the NIH awarded in 2019. The multi-year research education program was created with a goal of preparing a diverse set of students for careers in aging research, and over the past five years, has successfully supported aging-focused education and research for underrepresented women and gender-diverse scholars at St. Kates.
The KARE team is led by Katherine Campbell, PhD, associate professor of interprofessional education; Marcie Myers, PhD, professor of biology; and Josh Guggenheimer, PhD, associate professor of exercise and sport science, who work together closely as co-principal investigators of the award.
The KARE program has become a scholarly community in which students feel they belong to a cohort of classmates with similar career goals, to the field of Geroscience research, and to the larger scientific community, said Campbell. This funding is a testament to the NIA recognizing what we see every day at St. Kates: that we have amazing students! I am honored to continue to support our students success as aging researchers committed to social justice across the lifespan.
Each year, KARE accepts 67 students from the first- and second-year classes in the College for Women, who remain with the program through graduation. In addition to their major program of study, KARE scholars complete a cross-disciplinary Longevity and Aging minor, focusing on the environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, and biological factors impacting age-related health disparities among aging populations. Scholars also undertake two paid 400-hour aging-related research experiences.
In the past four years, KARE scholar accomplishments have included a Goldwater Scholarship, a Truman Scholarship, seven student-authored publications, and 34 student-authored conference presentations. So far, a total of 7 students have graduated from KARE, and all of them are currently on track to research-related careers. Students post-graduate plans include the PhD program at Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Clinical Laboratory Technologist at Mayo Clinic, and Research Technician in Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences at the University of Minnesota, among others.
The renewal of funding will allow KARE to continue supporting scholars through mentorship, expand the Geroscience coursework, and cultivate further mentored aging-related research opportunities, both intramural and extramural.
At St. Kate's, we see the excellent work of the students and faculty involved in the KARE grant every day, Baird said. This $1.98 million grant from the NIA provides external validation of those efforts. This federal award also serves to elevate the University's research reputation publicly, highlighting the way we do everything at St. Kates: collaboratively, top-notch, and with students and the greater good in our sights at all times.
Funding is supported by the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R25AG060892.