Gerontology Applied Research Grants
LIFE at UCF is proud to sponsor two annual gerontology research grant programs. The Richard Tucker Gerontology Applied Research Grant and the Al Dallago Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) Gerontology Research Grant programs provide significant funds to the students and faculty at the University of Central Florida to support this field of study that is important to our membership. The grants are provided to promote all aspects of UCF research relating to the scientific study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging. As such these grants are intended to provide incentive for and recognize Gerontology research studies at the University of Central Florida. Applications for the Tucker Gerontology Applied Research Grant are invited from master’s and doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty of all ranks and disciplines. The amount of these awards is determined each year by the LIFE Board of Directors and depends upon revenues from membership fees and donations from LIFE members. To date, LIFE at UCF is proud to have donated over $375,500 in support of these programs. We encourage each UCF organization to participate in these competitive programs.
Richard Tucker Gerontology Applied Research Grant
The Richard Tucker Gerontology Applied Research Grant is a competitive grant specifically for Applied Gerontology Research conducted by UCF faculty, staff, or graduate students under the sponsorship of UCF professors. The research may be proposed or in progress. Grant funds are generally allocated for one year or a shorter duration. Applicants may reapply in subsequent years.
The Application submission window opens each year in November and ends the following February. An email announcing the program details is sent to the UCF faculty during the fall semester. Awards are presented in April and are administered through the UCF Foundation. Selection is made by a separate Gerontology Research Awards Committee that makes recommendations to the LIFE Board of Directors for final approval. An email announcing the program details is made to the UCF faculty during the fall semester.
For more details and the application form go to this link: LIFE Gerontology Applied Research Grant
PAST YEAR AWARDS
In 2025-2026 LIFE at UCF awarded $38,000 to the following individuals through our Richard Tucker Gerontology Applied Research Program:
Cynthia Williams
Affiliation: College of Medicine, School of Global Health
Research Project: Determinants of the Dietary Behavior to Optimize Diabetes Care in Older Adults
Award Amount: $6,375
Kworweinski Lafontant
Affiliation: College of Health Professions and Sciences, Division of Kinesiology
Research Project: The Synergistic Effects of Resistance Training with Betaine Supplementation Among Recreationally Active Older Adults
Award Amount: $5,004
Md Tanjim Alam
Affiliation: Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences
Research Project: Senescent-Cell Exomes as Mediators of Aging-Related Alterations in Breast Tissue and Their Role in Elevating Breast Cancer Risk
Award Amount: $6,800
Janet Lopez
Affiliation: College of Nursing
Research Project: Integrating Mental Health and Physical Mobility: Development of a Bilingual Digital Problem-Solving Intervention for Hispanic/Latino Older Adults
Award Amount: $3,600
Marissa Mackiewicz
Affiliation: College of Nursing
Research Project: Chronic Disease Management Among Older Adults with Substance Use Disorder Experiencing Homelessness in Orlando
Award Amount: $3,425
Sergie Garcia-Retortillo
Affiliation: College of Nursing
Research Project: Network-Based Markers of Multi-System Coordination in Aging: A Pilot Study
Award Amount: $5,347
Al Dallago Undergraduate Gerontology Research Grant Program
The Al Dallago grant is awarded in collaboration with the UCF Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). Submissions through the OUR that are projects with a gerontology focus are shared with LIFE. Award recipients can receive simultaneous awards from both UCF and LIFE. Application is by semester for undergraduate students only. Four $750.00 grants are provided yearly. To be considered for this award, students need to fill out the UCF OUR application and merely check the Gerontology research box in the UCF application form.
https://academicsuccess.ucf.edu/our/research-grants/
Al Dallago research grants awarded in Spring 2026:
Joheily Franco
Affiliation: Biomedical Sciences – Neuroscience
Research Project: Investigating the Effects of Induced Neuroplasticity in a Huntington Disease Mouse
Award Amount: $750
Jose D. Auria Altuve
Affiliation: UCF College of Medicine
Research Project: Dual Inhibition Against PERK and FGFR4 with AMG PERK 44 and BLU-554 in Proliferation, Expansion, and Survival of Colorectal Cancer
Award Amount: $750
Al Dallago research grants awarded in Fall 2025:
- Varun Nannuri- “Engineering Alzheimer’s Disease-Associated iPSC-Derived Neurons to Explore Role of a DNA Repair Gene in Neuroprotection.”
- Connor Sankey- “Investigating the therapeutic potential of restoring gut metabolites in a Huntington disease mouse model.”
Al Dallago research grants awarded in Spring 2025:
- Sarah Nguyen- “Examining the Effects of Post-Translational Modifications on Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Enzymatic Activity in Ischemic Conditions.”
Al Dallago research grants awarded in Spring 2024:
- Wesley Lim– “Examining the effect of artemisia annua extract in neuro2A cells” examines artemisinin as a potential candidate in future treatments of many neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Mr. Lim is working to contribute to the link between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.
- Sydney Carey– “Building community and resilience through an adapted, aphasia-friendly, chair yoga for people with acquired brain injury and their care-partners.”
- Anna Schoenherr– “In vitro binding affinity and kinetics analysis of novel JAK2 inhibitor ‘Ruscholitinib.’”
Required Research Completion Reports
All LIFE Gerontology Research Grant recipients are required to file a Completion of Research Report when the project has been completed. Completion of this report may impact future eligibility to receive LIFE Grants. The report form can be accessed at this link: Research Completion Report.