Aging is the primary risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is rapidly becoming a global health concern. Cardiovascular risk factors such as increased blood pressure and stiffening of the elastic arteries occur with aging have been shown to increase risk of cognitive impairment and AD in older adults. My laboratory is interested in understanding the mechanisms by which impaired vascular function contributes to cognitive declines with aging and developing novel pharmacological, lifestyle and dietary (e.g., nutraceutical) interventions to delay or reverse age-associated cognitive decline by increasing blood flow to the brain.

Education
• BS, University of Delaware, Exercise Science
• PhD, University of Delaware, Applied Physiology
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Colorado Boulder, Physiology of Aging

Courses
• KAAP 430 – Exercise Physiology
• KAAP 440 – Topics in Exercise Science (Healthy Aging)
• KAAP 630 – Advanced Human Physiology I

Melinda K. Duncan, Ph.D., is the Principal Investigator of the Delaware IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (DE-INBRE), Associate Vice President for Research and Trustee's Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware. As PI of DE-INBRE, she leads a statewide partnership across Delaware’s academic institutions to expand Delaware’s biomedical research capacity, support faculty development, and train the future biomedical research workforce. Dr. Duncan’s research interests center on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying lens development, cataracts, and ocular wound healing. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers the State University of New Jersey. She completed postdoctoral training at the National Eye Institute before joining the University of Delaware, where she has built both a nationally recognized research program and a strong track record in mentoring and scientific leadership.

Amy Slocum serves as the Director, Delaware Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). She received her doctorate degree in 2006 in Education, Policy, Leadership and Administration and a Master Degree in Public Administration in 2000 both from the University of Delaware. She has over 27 years of grants management and administration experience. She is actively involved in reporting, accounting and facilitating economic development initiatives with partners both within and outside the University of Delaware. In her role as a pre-post award administrator, she has managed and supported more than 64 interdisciplinary federal projects (including Delaware EPSCoR programs) totaling $167 million that bridge science and society that support early career faculty and postdoctoral researchers. She is currently a PI on an EPSCoR E-CORE that expands interdisciplinary, collaborative research; builds stronger strategic alliances among academic institutions, industry, and government; and creates new education, entrepreneurial, and training opportunities for researchers.