Meet our ICFSR26 Rising Stars!
I. GEROSCIENCE – Clinical & Pre-Clinical Trials
1. Kidney aging in over one million community-dwelling adults: age-stratified trajectories reveal accelerated organ senescence in older age
Rising Star: Jamie Chi-Yun Wu
Affiliations: National Taiwan University, Taipei (Taiwan); Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (United States)
Short presentation summary
Using data from over 1.1 million adults, this study characterizes kidney function decline as a biomarker of organ aging. Older adults showed faster eGFR decline across all CKD stages, with paradoxically steep declines among those with better baseline function. The findings suggest that most age-related kidney changes reflect physiological senescence rather than inexorable progression to kidney failure.
Short bio
Jamie Chi-Yun Wu is a Master’s student in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins and a registered pharmacist in Taiwan. Her work focuses on geriatric pharmacoepidemiology, translating clinical questions into large-scale population research to improve outcomes in vulnerable older adults.
2. Exercise-trained young plasma enhances the functional and anti-inflammatory effects of exercise in aged mice
Rising Star: Alejandra López-Moroni
Affiliations: Escuela de Kinesiología, Universidad Mayor, Santiago (Chile); Center for Integrative Biology, Santiago (Chile)
Short presentation summary
In an aged mouse model, plasma from exercise-trained young donors amplified the benefits of physical training, improving strength, endurance, mobility, and reducing systemic inflammation. These findings support the concept of “exerkines” as geroprotective factors with potential to modulate frailty and sarcopenia.
Short bio
Alejandra López-Moroni is a researcher at Universidad Mayor and the Center for Integrative Biology. Her work focuses on how exercise and circulating factors influence functional capacity and inflammation during aging.
II. INTRINSIC CAPACITY
3. Associations and Interaction Effects of Socioeconomic, Lifestyle, and Genetic Factors on Intrinsic Capacity
Rising Star: Melkamu Beyene
Affiliation: The University of Adelaide, Adelaide (Australia)
Short presentation summary
Using 13,112 participants from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, this study shows that higher intrinsic capacity is linked to higher education, income, physical activity, and healthy diets, and is lower in smokers and those with suboptimal sleep. Polygenic scores for intrinsic capacity interacted with lifestyle and socioeconomic factors, underscoring a complex gene–environment interplay in healthy aging.
Short bio
Melkamu Beyene is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide working on the genetics of intrinsic capacity. He previously spent over 14 years in Ethiopian higher education, focusing on public health.
4. Emerging Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Technologies for Older Adult Health and Wellbeing
Rising Star: Avantika Shah
Affiliation: NORC at the University of Chicago; DrPH candidate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (United States)
Short presentation summary
Analyzing 100 NIA AITC-funded pilot projects, this study maps the landscape of AI technologies for older adults, with most targeting cognition and mobility in home settings. While AI shows strong potential to enhance intrinsic capacity, gaps remain in equity, usability, and stakeholder involvement.
Short bio
Avantika Shah, MPH, is a Research Scientist at NORC specializing in aging, digital health, and patient-centered outcomes research. She has led federally funded projects and is pursuing a DrPH focused on AI for older adult health and wellbeing.
5. Cell-type-specific mitochondrial function and T-cell dynamics in frailty development among individuals with and without HIV
Rising Star: Jing Sun
Affiliations: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore (United States)
Short presentation summary
In a longitudinal cohort of people with and without HIV, this study examines how mitochondrial mass and metabolism in immune cell subsets change as frailty emerges. Findings suggest declining mitochondrial mass in T cells and compensatory increases in mitochondrial activity in monocytes during frailty onset, particularly among people with HIV.
Short bio
Dr. Jing Sun is an Associate Research Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins. Her research focuses on aging-related comorbidities and frailty in people with HIV, with a particular interest in mitochondrial genetics and function.
6. Multi-omics analyses of the serum metabolome and gut microbiome reveal inflammation activation in older patients with intrinsic capacity decline
Rising Star: Ji Shen
Affiliation: Beijing Hospital, Beijing (China)
Short presentation summary
This multi-omics study links specific gut microbial taxa and serum metabolites to intrinsic capacity decline in older adults. Altered amino acid, caffeine/theobromine, and energy metabolism, as well as anti-inflammatory pathways, appear to contribute to IC decline and may offer targets for intervention.
Short bio
Ji Shen is a researcher at Beijing Hospital specializing in microbiome, metabolomics, and aging. Their work examines biological signatures of intrinsic capacity and mechanisms underlying age-related functional decline.
III. FRAILTY
7. Beyond Performance Status: Frailty as an Independent Prognostic Marker in Advanced Cancer Across Multiple Tumor Types
Rising Star: Hsi-Yu Lai
Affiliation: Graduate Institute of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Taiwan)
Short presentation summary
Using national cancer registry and claims data, this study shows that a multimorbidity-based frailty index predicts 1-year mortality in advanced cancer independently of ECOG performance status. Frailty adds particular prognostic value in lung, colorectal, breast, oral, and prostate cancers, supporting its integration into routine oncology assessment.
Short bio
Hsi-Yu Lai is a PhD student and licensed clinical pharmacist whose research focuses on frailty, multimorbidity, and geriatric pharmacoepidemiology. He applies real-world data and advanced analytics to improve risk stratification and healthy longevity in older adults.
8. Frailty As A Sensitive Marker Linking Adversity And Biological Ageing: Evidence From Three UK Biobank Studies
Rising Star: Julian Mutz
Affiliation: King’s College London, London (United Kingdom)
Short presentation summary
Across three large UK Biobank analyses, frailty showed the strongest and most consistent associations with childhood, adulthood, and lifetime adversity compared with other aging markers (telomeres, grip strength, metabolomic measures). Frailty emerges as a sensitive integrative endpoint through which adversity accelerates biological aging.
Short bio
Dr. Julian Mutz is a Research Fellow at the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s College London. His work focuses on biological markers of aging, frailty, and psychiatric epidemiology, and he has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications.
9. Associations between physical outcomes and circulating cell free DNA in older adults with chronic kidney disease
Rising Star: Lolita Nidadavolu
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (United States)
Short presentation summary
In older adults with advanced CKD, higher levels of mitochondrial and genomic cell-free DNA were associated with frailty and specific frailty components such as weakness, low activity, slowness, and exhaustion. These findings support cf-DNA—particularly mitochondrial cf-DNA—as a blood-based marker linking inflammation, mitochondrial dysregulation, and physical decline.
Short bio
Dr. Lolita Nidadavolu is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and geriatrician at Johns Hopkins. Her research explores immune and mitochondrial mechanisms of physical and cognitive decline, focusing on circulating biomarkers of resilience and vulnerability in older adults.
10. Associations of Gait Speed, Grip Strength, Depressive Symptoms, and their Combinations with Fracture Risk in Older Adults
Rising Star: Temam Raru
Affiliation: Deakin University / IMPACT, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong (Australia)
Short presentation summary
Using data from over 16,000 older adults, this study shows that slow gait and depressive symptoms each increase fracture risk, and that combined slow gait with weak grip or depression confers even higher risk. Findings highlight the intertwined roles of physical and mental health in fracture vulnerability.
Short bio
Temam Raru is a PhD candidate in Public Health (Biostatistics) at Deakin University and a former lecturer at Haramaya University in Ethiopia. His research focuses on falls and fractures in older adults using large observational datasets.
11. New Perspectives on Prefrailty
Rising Star: Charlotte Clapham
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (United States)
Short presentation summary
Analyzing longitudinal data from older women, this study finds that prefrailty (1–2 Fried criteria) does not behave as a distinct preclinical syndrome. Continuous measures of frailty components provide better prediction of future frailty than a simple prefrailty category, suggesting the need for refined definitions.
Short bio
Charlotte Clapham is a researcher at Johns Hopkins whose work focuses on quantitative approaches to frailty phenotyping and trajectories of functional decline in older adults.
IV. SARCOPENIA
12. Age-Related Neural Decline in Hand Function: Evidence from Multi-Finger Force Deficit and Dual-Task Interference
Rising Star: Greg Shaw
Affiliation: Ohio University, Athens, Ohio (United States)
Short presentation summary
Comparing younger and older adults, this study shows that older adults have markedly lower handgrip strength, larger multi-finger force deficits, and greater performance loss under dual-task conditions. Results suggest that neural mechanisms, not just muscle loss, contribute significantly to age-related handgrip weakness.
Short bio
Greg Shaw is a PhD student in Translational Biomedical Sciences at Ohio University with a background in mechanical and biomedical engineering. His research examines neural contributions to age-related declines in handgrip strength, building on his long-standing interest in exercise and functional capacity.
13. Group-Based Multimodal Exercise Intervention Improves Body Composition, Gait Dynamics, and Sarcopenia Presentation in Older Veterans at Risk for Falls
Rising Star: Julie Rekant
Affiliations: University of Maryland, Baltimore; VA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Baltimore (United States)
Short presentation summary
In older Veterans at risk for falls, a 12-week group-based multimodal exercise program improved lean mass, gait quality, balance confidence, and functional performance. Sarcopenia prevalence decreased based on walking-distance criteria, supporting group exercise as a scalable strategy to preserve intrinsic capacity and reduce fall risk.
Short bio
Dr. Julie Rekant is an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Maryland and an Advanced Fellow in Geriatrics at the Baltimore VA. Trained as both a DPT and PhD in Bioengineering, she specializes in wearable-sensor–based mobility assessment and early detection of functional decline.
14. Weight Loss Magnitude Predicts Appendicular Lean Mass Decline Without Reaching Pre-Sarcopenia Thresholds in Older Adults
Rising Star: Theresa Libera
Affiliation: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (United States)
Short presentation summary
In a 12-week behavioral weight loss trial, greater percent weight loss was associated with larger reductions in appendicular lean mass, especially when >10% of body weight was lost. However, mean lean mass remained above pre-sarcopenia thresholds, suggesting structured weight loss need not increase short-term sarcopenia risk if carefully monitored.
Short bio
Theresa Libera is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech in a joint program with Wake Forest. Her research focuses on preserving lean mass during behavioral weight loss in older adults to support functional outcomes across diverse populations.
15. Human Frailty-on-a-Chip: A Microphysiological Model of Age-Related Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction
Rising Star: Anicca Harriot
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (United States)
Short presentation summary
This work develops a human muscle-on-a-chip platform using engineered muscle tissues from young and older donors to model age-related sarcopenia. The system enables high-throughput, simultaneous measurement of contractile function, calcium dynamics, and spatial molecular signatures, revealing reduced force and impaired myogenesis in aged muscle.
Short bio
Anicca Harriot is a researcher at Johns Hopkins working at the interface of bioengineering, muscle biology, and aging. She uses advanced microphysiological systems and high-content imaging to uncover mechanisms of sarcopenia and test precision interventions for healthy aging.