UTMB Health Faculty Present Research at 2025 Pepper Center Annual Meeting

In April 2025, researchers from UTMB Health’s Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) participated in the annual meeting hosted by the Coordinating Board of the Pepper Centers. The event brought together early-career scholars, senior faculty, and national leaders to advance knowledge in the fields of aging, independence, and longevity.

UTMB faculty gave several notable presentations:

• Monique Pappadis presented Disability as a Health Disparity, exploring the systemic inequities experienced by older adults living with disabilities.
• Alberto Aparicio offered insights into Perspectives on Aging, Independence, and Longevity: Understanding Older Adults’ Attitudes Toward Geroscience Interventions and Barriers to Healthy Aging.
• Letitia Graves presented on Aging and SCI: Toward an Understanding of Epigenetic Mechanisms Impacting Accelerated Aging Following Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.
• David Lynch discussed The Effects of DNA Damage Response Potentiation on Cellular Lifespan and Response, highlighting cellular-level mechanisms that influence aging.

UTMB attendees included faculty across career stages:

• Early Career Faculty: Phillip Cantu, Alberto Aparicio, Letitia Graves
• Senior Faculty: David Lynch, Soham Al Snih, Brian Downer, James Goodwin, Erin Hommel, Alan Landay, Neil Mehta, Melissa Morrow, Andrew Murton, Monique Pappadis, and Xiaoying Yu
• Administrator: Lexi King

The meeting provided a valuable platform for collaborative learning and mentorship. Drs. Missy Morrow and Jim Goodwin, who serve as Multiple Principal Investigators (MPIs) of UTMB’s Pepper OAIC, met with NIH/NIA leadership during the conference. UTMB faculty also engaged in key activities such as mentor-mentee sessions and a mock NIH study section. Participation in this national meeting reflects UTMB’s ongoing commitment to advancing innovative research that supports healthy aging and independence in older adults.