Ya-Chieh Hsu, Ph.D. (Harvard) and Xuebing Wu, Ph.D. (Columbia) receive inaugural Glenn Foundation Discovery Awards

Santa Barbara, CA and New York, NY — The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research (GFMR) and the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) are pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the 
2023 Glenn Foundation Discovery Awards:

Ya-Chieh Hsu, PhD, Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, and a Principal Faculty Member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

Xuebing Wu, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine and in Systems Biology), Columbia University.

The Glenn Foundation Discovery Award  was created to support research projects with strong potential to develop pioneering discoveries to understand the underlying biological mechanisms that govern normal human aging and its related physiological decline. Two three-year awards of $525,000 are made annually ($175,000 per year for three years).

Dr. Hsu’s Discovery Award is titled “Rapid Functional Genetics to Identify Genes that can Rejuvenate Aged Stem Cells.” The project will capitalize on powerful new technologies to not only understand the molecular mechanisms that drive stem cell aging but also identify functionally important genes that can rejuvenate old stem cells in vivo directly. Learn more about her ongoing research at Harvard here.

Dr. Wu’s Discovery Award is titled “Aging as a self-reinforcing feedback loop: investigate the role of noncoding translation” and aims to open new lines of research into the complex interplay between multiple hallmarks of aging. Learn more about his ongoing research at Columbia here.

“The Glenn Foundation Discovery Award specifically seeks to include principal investigators who have not been engaged in aging research, but whose research is relevant to understanding aging mechanisms and could lead to novel advances with significant potential to benefit human health and well-being,” notes Mark Collins, President of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research. 

“AFAR is grateful for our long-time collaboration with the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research on several grant programs as well as our annual scientific meetings,” says Stephanie Lederman, EdM, Executive Director, AFAR. “We are excited for the new insights that the Discovery Award recipients will bring to the field while advancing research that will help us all live healthier, longer.”

Learn more about the Glenn Foundation Discovery Award here.

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About the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research – Founded by Paul F. Glenn in 1965, the mission of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research is to extend the healthy years of life through research on mechanisms of biology that govern normal human aging and its related physiological decline, with the objective of translating research into interventions that will extend healthspan withlifespan. Learn more at glennfoundation.org.

About AFAR – The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For more than four decades, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing nearly $199 million to some 4,400 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. In 2023, AFAR expects to provide approximately $12,500,000 to more than 60 investigators. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and interdisciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org.