Nutrition Alumna Selected for Butler-Williams Scholars Program

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Sharmin Hossain, who earned her Ph.D. in nutrition from the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) in 2018, recently participated in the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) Butler-Williams Scholars Program for emerging researchers.

The NIA is one of the 27 institutes and centers in the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Hossain currently works for the NIA as a postdoctoral research fellow on the HANDLS (Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span) study, a 20-year longitudinal study investigating the sources of persistent health disparities in overall longevity, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Her current position is an extension of the NIA internship she received while still a doctoral candidate at UMass.

“My 2017 internship at NIA helped lay the groundwork for my current research, and I consider myself very fortunate for that opportunity,” says Hossain. “While at UMass I also received diverse training on everything from nutrition and epidemiology to molecular and cellular biology, and I owe my current position to exceptional faculty mentors.”

Hossain was among five postdoctoral fellows selected by the NIA’s Intramural Research Program to participate in this year’s Butler-Williams Scholars Program, held July 29 through August 2, 2019 on the NIH’s Bethesda, Maryland campus.

The program included lectures, seminars, and small group discussions in research design relative to aging, including issues relevant to aging of ethnic and racial minorities. Lecture topics included the biology of aging; genetics and Alzheimer's disease; and health, behavior, and aging. Discussion sessions focused on methodological approaches and interventions. The program also included consultation on the development of research interests and advice on preparing and submitting research grant applications to NIA.

For more information on the Butler-Williams Scholars Program, click here.