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San Diego Nathan Shock Center

Pilot Grants and Training

Salk Institute for Biological Studies - San Diego Nathan Shock Center - Pilot Grants and Training

Pilot Grants and Training

Research Development Core

Research Development Core

The goal of the SD-NSC Research Development Core is to provide support for the career development of junior researchers entering the field of basic aging biology, as well as for established investigators who wish to join the field of aging research. The resources and activities offered include the option to:
  • Pilot Grant and Mentoring Program. Launch new heterogeneity of aging research projects through a pilot grant funding program that enables use of the SD-NSC Human Cell Models of Aging, Heterogeneity of Aging, and Integrative Models of Aging research resource cores. Pilot grant awards of ~$20,000 are available each year. In addition, each junior investigator will be paired with a senior researcher with expertise in the proposed research, who will serve as mentor through the pilot project period. Visit this page to know more about the next call.
  • Training. Receive training from the SD-NSC research resource cores, as well as networking and career development opportunities. Visit our Annual Training Events page for more information on current opportunities.

2022 SD-NSC Pilot Grant Awardees

Nicole Coufal
PROJECT TITLE Human microglial aging modeled through mitochondrial progeria mutations
Assistant Professor University of California San Diego
Dibyadeep Datta
PROJECT TITLE Elucidating the Spatial and Temporal Progression of Pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease at Single-Cell Resolution in Non-Human Primates
Assistant Professor Yale University
Caroline Kumsta
PROJECT TITLE Heterogeneity of autophagy during aging
Assistant Professor Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Sarah Ocañas
PROJECT TITLE The effect of estrogen signaling modulation on female-specific microglial heterogeneity in the mouse hippocampus
Postdoctoral Fellow Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Freeman Lab
Andrey Parkhitko
PROJECT TITLE Defining downstream mechanisms of methionine restriction by using single-cell sequencing
Assistant Professor Aging Institute University of Pittsburgh
Lichao Wang
PROJECT TITLE Proteomic mechanisms of lifespan and healthspan extension by targeting p21high cell in vivo
Postdoctoral Fellow UConn Center on Aging Xu Lab
Zhen Zhou
PROJECT TITLE Combining single-cell transcriptomics with live-cell imaging to unravel divergent aging trajectories in yeast
Postdoctoral Fellow UC San Diego Hao Lab
Click to view Winter 2021 Awardees »   Click to view Spring 2021 Awardees »