Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has received a Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and Hevolution Foundation.
An assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine, Bick is among 18 investigators in the second cohort of the Hevolution/AFAR awards program. Each awardee will receive $375,000 in research support over three years.
The program supports early-career investigators in the United States and Canada who are studying the basic biology of aging, translating advances from the laboratory to the clinic, and ultimately helping to shape the trajectory of healthy aging.
Bick’s work has advanced the understanding of somatic (non-inherited) mutations in blood stem cells, which can trigger explosive clonal growth (hematopoiesis) of abnormal cells.
This phenomenon, called clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP, affects 10-20% of people ages 65 and older. CHIP is associated with an estimated 40% greater risk of death from cardiovascular, lung and liver disease, and other inflammatory conditions.
Bick’s award will support research aimed at identifying genes or circulating proteins in the blood that potentially will lead to ways to prevent CHIP and the diseases it causes.
“I am deeply grateful for the support of the American Federation for Aging Research and the Hevolution Foundation,” Bick said. “This bold investment will catalyze our efforts to develop new therapies to prevent aging diseases.”
Since joining the faculty of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2020, Bick has received several major research and career development awards. In 2021 he was named the first VUMC Discovery Scholar in Health and Medicine, which includes funding from the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development Endowment.
AFAR is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research aimed at helping people live healthier and longer.
Hevolution Foundation is a global nonprofit organization headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that supports “a cutting-edge, global ecosystem of talent to propel aging and geroscience research forward and achieve medical breakthroughs.”
AFAR and Hevolution Foundation launched the New Investigator Awards in 2022 as a pilot initiative to support aging research and geroscience, a research paradigm that addresses the biology of aging and age-related diseases to promote healthy aging.
In 2023, Hevolution expanded the program with an additional commitment of $16 million to support up to 36 investigators in Northern America in 2023 and 2024. The application process for the third cohort is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2024.
For more information, visit http://www.afar.org/funding-opportunities.
