Eight fellows will participate in the NIH-supported training program for aging and aging-related researchers.
Eight doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars from institutions and research organizations across the United States have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Entrepreneurship and Science Communication for Aging and Aging-Related Research (ESCAAR) Program at the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies (UMSGS).
Supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion program, ESCAAR is a 10-month training program designed to support early-career researchers with a defined focus on aging or aging-related topics in transforming their work for broader audiences and real-world impact.
This year’s inaugural cohort is the first of four ESCAAR cohorts planned through 2030.
Fellows will build skills in entrepreneurship, science communication, and innovative narratives around aging through an in-person Summer Institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore this July, monthly virtual workshops, mentorship, and an online curriculum. The program will culminate with an in-person Spring Showcase in April 2027.
“I’m tremendously excited to welcome our inaugural cohort of ESCAAR fellows,” said Isabell May, PhD, associate professor and director of the Science Communication Program at UMSGS, who leads ESCAAR as principal investigator and project leader. “They’re all answering urgent questions about aging, caregiving, health, and quality of life. ESCAAR is about supporting them so that their work doesn’t stay just inside academic journals, but reaches the people, organizations, and communities that can use it.”
This year’s ESCAAR fellows are:
Natalia Babenko, PhD candidate in aging studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa, studies mental health and resilience among older cancer survivors who also serve as family caregivers, with a focus on the role of social connection in aging. A Fulbright Scholar, Babenko came to the United States to pursue a Master of Public Health with a concentration in global health practice, focusing on public health prevention strategies for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Aarti Bhat, postdoctoral fellow at the Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, studies the impact of housing insecurity and economic hardship over the life course on physiological and epigenetic markers of aging, contributing to health disparities in midlife and older adulthood.
Laura Brotzman, postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, focuses on improving risk communication and individualized decision-making for older adults, particularly around cancer screening and deprescribing, to reduce overtreatment and low-value care. Brotzman’s research seeks to impact broader health service outcomes by improving how older adults engage in and make decisions about their health and health care.
Katherine Dudek, PhD candidate in the department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is developing scalable, sensor-based measures of vestibular recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI) to inform rehabilitation and fall-prevention strategies for older adults. Dudek said TBI and vestibular research is important to her in part because of her own experience with traumatic brain injury in high school, which left her dealing with years of activity modifications and dizziness.
Yu-Hua Fu, PhD candidate in pharmaceutical health services research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, studies age-friendly, person-centered prescribing through mixed-methods research on polypharmacy, high-risk medication use, and caregiver-informed decision-making in older adults.
Abigail Kehrer-Dunlap, PhD candidate in rehabilitation and participation sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, studies dynamic fall risk factors in people aging with Parkinson’s disease to support safer aging in place and improve quality of life. An occupational therapist, Kehrer-Dunlap said her passion for aging in place is rooted in both clinical and personal experiences, including seeing older adults who wanted to remain in their homes but felt unprepared or unsupported to do so successfully.
Katherine Kennedy, health science specialist at the VA Providence Healthcare System in Rhode Island, studies long-term care quality through research on staff retention, training, and organizational practices that shape dementia care and aging‑related outcomes. A social gerontologist, Kennedy has a particular passion for supporting and strengthening the long‑term care workforce in nursing homes and assisted-living communities.
Julián Ponce, PhD candidate in community health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, investigates modifiable risk factors for accelerated cognitive aging, with a particular focus on social determinants of health and chronic disease. Specifically, his research examines how social and biological factors interact to influence cognitive aging and contribute to disparities in cognitive health.