UAB graduate student awarded prestigious research scholarship to study biology of aging

University of Alabama at BirminghamPhoto credit: Tate LasherDepartment of Biology Ph.D. student Tate Lasher was recently awarded the Diana Jacobs Kalman/American Federation for Aging Research Scholarship for Research in the Biology of Aging.

Lasher, 26, an Atlanta, Georgia, native, will receive $5,000 in academic funding to conduct a three- to six-month research project focused on biomedical research in aging. Designed to grant doctoral students with funding to conduct potentially life-changing research, the scholarship seeks to attract the next generation of aging researchers to lead to advances that help people live longer and healthier lives.

"This is a great opportunity to carry out new research in the aging field, and it is also very rewarding to get recognized for the work that our lab does," Lasher said.

Lasher is a member of the Sun Lab, run by his mentor Liou Sun, M.D., an associate professor in UAB's College of Arts and Sciences who studies the biology of aging.

Lasher will investigate how blocking growth hormone action specifically in the pancreas of mice contributes to healthy aging. The pancreas produces glucagon and insulin.

In the Sun Lab, the team has consistently shown that growth hormone deficient mice live significantly longer lives than their "normal" counterparts - 50 percent longer on average in many cases. Ultimately, the group hopes that this project will advance their understanding of the aging process and identify new targets for extending the lifespan of humans in the future.

"UAB is a world-class institute for aging research, which grants me the resources, both material and intellectual, that are required to continue conducting cutting-edge research in the field," Lasher said.

Since 1981, AFAR has funded over $200 million to aging researchers. Diana Jacobs Kalman and the AFAR are dedicated to nurturing the growth and advancement of early career scientists in the field of aging research.