CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Two University of Illinois students - one of whom is enrolled at the Urbana campus - have won 2009-2010 Paul D. Doolen graduate scholarships for the study of aging. Each will receive $5,000 to continue their research.
Michelle Voss, of Champaign, won the Doolen award in the biological-biomedical sciences category. She is pursuing a doctorate in psychology through the Neuroscience Program.
Voss' research focuses on adding structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to traditional cognitive psychology to advance understanding of the aging brain. She also is investigating the effect of aerobic fitness on the aging brain.
She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the Urbana campus.
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.