Fellowship projects are renewed annually for a maximum of three years. Stipends are commensurate with experience and follow NIH recommended postdoctoral stipend levels. Trainees will gain knowledge in the mechanisms of biological aging and its relationship to chronic disease. Trainees will gain skills in critical thinking to evaluate new research findings. In addition, trainees will receive instruction in written and verbal skills that enrich their publications, grant proposals, and oral presentations. Ongoing seminar series, basic science and clinical lectures, well-organized journal clubs, and research meetings will provide up-to-date information and intellectual cross-fertilization that can lead to the next wave of major discoveries in the field.
Our program leans on the ‘Seven Pillars of Aging’ identified by the NIH Geroscience Initiative: Metabolism, Macromolecular Damage, Epigenetics, Inflammation, Adaptation to Stress, Proteostasis, and Stem cells and Regeneration. In addition to the seven pillars of aging, another perhaps more important concept in aging research has emerged. It is now becoming clear that the mechanisms driving aging are inter-connected. For instance, macromolecular damage can lead to cellular senescence, promoting localized inflammation. It is thus not only important to identify and elaborate the pillars of aging themselves, but it is critical to understand how they are connected and what the earliest triggers of the aging process are. Given our focus on geroscience and our collaborative nature, the Buck Institute is in an ideal position to understand how aging pathways are related and to begin to establish a systems level understanding of aging.
The major goal of this program is to encourage and support new activities at the Institute that will build on existing expertise, but aim at identifying and exploiting synergies with the promise of major breakthroughs in geroscience. Such breakthroughs will range from the conceptual to the translational: developing a deeper understanding of the aging process, identifying new targets for possible interventions, and developing and testing intervention strategies. The program is thus directly geared towards the initiation of new activities between multiple laboratories with promise to make a real impact in geroscience.
Fellows will serve a period of two to three years each depending on the project requirements. Projects by Postdoctoral Fellows must have the following components:
- A novel project that addresses connectivity between at least two of the pillars of aging.
- Collaborative science with a primary mentor and a co-mentor having expertise in two areas of aging.
- Projects of two-year duration, with a third year subject to demonstration of significant progress.
- Proposals reviewed by an internal panel of investigators at the Buck Institute and with involvement of the Glenn Foundation, if desired.
- Emphasis on the development of translational approaches to extend human healthspan will be viewed favorably, subject to compliance with other requirements.
