Patrick McGrath, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Biology, has been chosen as an Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging to study how complex genetics can influence the aging process in the small nematode C. elegans. McGrath joined the School of Biology in 2012 and applied for membership to the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience in his first year.
In humans, lifespan is a heritable trait, meaning that differences in our genes influence how fast we age. The McGrath lab plans to identify new signaling pathways controlling aging that are preferentially modified by combinations of natural polymorphisms segregating within a population.
The foundation’s New Scholar awards provide support for new investigators to help establish their labs. The award provides funding of $100,000 per year for a four-year period.
New Scholar applications are by invitation only. This is the first year that Georgia Tech has been invited to nominate a candidate to apply.
Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience