Congratulations to Jamie Justice, PhD, Assistant Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, for receiving the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Cristofalo Rising Star Award and NIH Nathan W. Shock Lecture.
The Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star award in Aging Research is named for late AFAR board member Vincent Cristofalo. Vince set an example of wise leadership, sophisticated judgment, and solid accomplishment that remain an inspiration to all who knew him. The award honors an individual who has already made major discoveries in the fundamental biology of aging and whose work is deemed likely to be highly influential for decades to come.
The NIH awarded Nathan W. Shock Lecture is given annually to leaders in gerontology who have bridged translational divides and moved forward interventions that target the biology of aging in humans. Nathan W. Shock was a pioneer of gerontology who served as the first Scientific Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
Jamie's research is within the emerging field of geroscience, and she works to evaluate the functional role of biological processes underlying human aging, and to translate promising interventions targeting these processes from animal models to clinical trials. This includes: 1) developing outcomes and biomarker frameworks for aging outcomes trials testing metformin or lifestyle interventions, and 2) establishing functional consequences of cellular senescence in older adults, with focus on adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, and proof-of-concept clinical trials of senolytics and lifestyle intervention. Her work relies on an interdisciplinary and team-based approach, and she is committed to creating a similarly diverse multidisciplinary workforce in geroscience MPI of the new Geroscience Education and Training Network. Jamie's work is funded through National Institutes of Health, American Federation for Aging Research and Glenn Foundation, and the Jarrahi Research Scholars Fund in Geroscience Innovation.