A central part of the Aging Institute (AI) mission is to promote innovative research in aging and a rich environment for training of new generation of investigators in the aging field.  The partnership and exchange between University of Pittsburgh and UPMC allows basic and translational research with the objective to understand the connection between aging and chronic diseases and improve the quality of life of the elderly population. The research partners include:

• University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine, Divisions of Cardiology; Endocrinology and Metabolism; Pulmonary Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine; and Geriatric Medicine
• Vascular Medicine Institute
• Center for Metabolism and Mitochondrial Medicine
• Center for Aging and Population Health

The investigators of the Institute have experience and enthusiasm for training postdoctoral fellows and junior faculties.  Beyond individualized mentorship by top-notch basic and translational researchers, the institute offers mentorship in career development grant writing, presentation skills and provides opportunities for collaboration and networking with researcher within and outside the University.  The following programs are dedicated to supporting postdoctoral training within the Aging Institute:

Research Seminar Series – This monthly conference will have the mission to educate the scientific community at the University of Pittsburgh about the advancements in the aging biology field. Speakers will come not only from the AI and the research partners at the University of Pittsburgh but from across the nation and from overseas. All postodocs and junior faculties are required to attend. A dedicated session of questions and answers from postdocs is organized with speakers.

Networking Gathering – The AI sponsors a monthly series of informal discussions to stimulate collaborative research between faculties of the AI and the research partners. Presentations will be followed by a gathering to socialize and network. All postdocs are highly encouraged to attend this event to allow informal interaction with faculties and familiarize postdocs with the non-scientific skills required to pursue and succeed in an academic career.

AI Research in Progress – All postdocs and junior faculties are required to attend this monthly meeting and present their work at least once a year starting in their 2nd year. This seminar is a more informal venue in which junior investigators present their current research in order to gain scientific feedback as well as develop their oral presentation skills.

Journal Club – This journal club is a monthly activity and all postdocs and junior faculties are required to attend and to present at least once a year.  The goal of this meeting is to review current publications and to gain the skill of critically reviewing the literature.

Grant Writing Workshop – This workshop teaches the fundamentals of writing a grant application and guides trainees as they put together their first grant.  This workshop is limited to postdocs in their second year (or above) of training who have demonstrated significant scientific aptitude and have long term plans to stay in academia.

Program Leadership

Program Director:

Core Training Faculty: Toren Finkel, MD, PhD; Anne Newman, MD, MPH; Marta Bueno, PhD; Beibei Bill Chen, PhD;  Daniel Forman, MD; Aditi Gurkar, PhD; Gang Li, PhD; Jie Liu, PhD; Shihui Liu, MD, PhD; Yuan Liu, PhD;  Stacey Sukoff Rizzo, PhD; Shiori Sekine, PhD; Yusuke Sekine, PhD;  Matthew Steinhauser, MD; Jay Tan, PhD; Bokai Zhu, PhD.

CONTACT:

• Research Seminar Series:  Bokai Zhu, PhD | bzhu@pitt.edu | 412-383-0447
• Journal Club:  Bokai Zhu, PhD | bzhu@pitt.ed | 412-383-0447
• Research In Progress: Xiaojun (Jay) Tan, PhD | jay.tan@pitt.edu | 412-383-4405