Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Two graduate students receive grants to pursue gerontology research

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Two University of Illinois students have won 2008-2009 Paul D. Doolen graduate scholarships for the study of aging. Each will receive $5,000 to continue their research.

Katherine Morris, of North East, Pa., winner of the Doolen award in the behavioral-social sciences category, is pursuing a doctorate in kinesiology and community health. She is interested in developing methods to improve the motor functions and physical activity of people making the transition to life in assisted-living facilities. Morris received her bachelor’s degrees from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree from Illinois.

Matthew Thorpe, of Provo, Utah, who won the Doolen award in the biological-biomedical sciences category, is enrolled in the campus’s Medical Scholars Program and is pursuing a doctorate in nutritional sciences and a medical degree from the university’s Chicago campus. Thorpe received his bachelor’s degree in family and human development from Brigham Young University. His research focuses on the connection between nutrition and bone frailty in the elderly. He is studying the role that protein intake plays in the development of osteoporosis.

The Doolen Scholarship is awarded annually to graduate students in their second year of study or beyond whose principal scholarly interest is in the field of aging. The scholarship was established in 1986 by an endowment from the Retirement Research Foundation, Oak Park, Ill., to honor the late Paul D. Doolen, a longtime member of the foundation’s board of directors and a 1927 Illinois graduate.

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010