MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship to Caterina Gregorio
Caterina Gregorio has received funding in the context of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship within the area of intersecting biostatistics and ageing research for her project entitled "LETMEAGE- A complex system approach to metrics of aging for identifying personalised interventions”.
The MSCA-funded Postdoctoral Fellowships are part of the EU’s Research and Innovation framework programme Horizon Europe, to boost top researchers' careers through mobility and innovative doctoral and postdoctoral training. The amount granted is EUR 250,000 and the duration of the project is two years.
“The goal of LETMEAGE is to develop innovative methodologies for longitudinal ageing metrics and the identification of personalised preventive interventions aimed at extending the health span and well-being in older age,” explains Caterina Gregorio, postdoctoral researcher at the Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.
The proposed framework views the ageing individual as a complex system in which the dimensions of ageing − from cellular mechanisms to disease and physical and cognitive function − interact dynamically with each other and with external factors (e.g., socioeconomic, environmental).
Methodology
“Statistical methods tailored to reflect clinically accurate and biologically detailed geroscience models will be developed. Following methodological validation through simulations and data from two longitudinal population-based studies, all methods will be integrated into an open-source software package to be used for future research” says Caterina Gregorio.
Interdisciplinary project
LETMEAGE is a highly interdisciplinary project combining applied mathematics, scientific computing, biostatistics, ageing, and geroscience toward a more holistic approach to ageing and geroscience research. The methodology proposed in LETMEAGE will enable the estimation of subject-specific determinants of the ageing process and personalised predictions. Additionally, tailored microsimulation methods will be developed to perform data-driven scenario analyses, estimating the potential gain of hypothetical preventive interventions targeting risk factors for accelerated ageing.
What does this grant mean for your research? And for you personally?
“This fellowship allows me to contribute to methodological statistical research in the field of ageing, an area I am deeply passionate about. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do this while working in Davide Vetrano's group at the Aging Research Center. I am also looking forward to the enriching exchanges the multidisciplinary and international nature of this project will bring.”
“Through this project, I will establish collaborations with other distinguished institutions such as the Bordeaux Population Health Research Center in France, the National Institute on Aging in the US, Human Technopole, and Politecnico di Milano in Italy. I could not be more grateful for the opportunity provided by the MSCA fellowship to pursue my career goals in academia.”