Okonkwo Lab News
Welcome Mai and Adam
The Okonkwo Lab is excited to welcome two more members to our team! Mai Seng Thao is the ADNI Scholars Project Manager for the Health Equities Scholars Program. Mai has a background in Early-Middle Childhood …
November 20, 2023Ira Frahmand’s Abstract Accepted for Oral Presentation
Ira Frahmand’s abstract “Age-related alterations in plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease are attenuated in KLOTHO KL-VS Heterozygotes” was accepted for in-person oral presentation! Congratulations, Ira! We are all so proud of you!
November 1, 2023Bri Breidenbach and Noah Cook’s Abstracts Accepted for Poster Presentation
Congratulations, Bri and Noah, on the acceptance of their abstracts for poster presentation at AD/PD in March 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal! This is phenomenal news and an amazing accomplishment. Bri Breidenbach: “Fitness level modifies the …
November 1, 2023Talia Brach Accepted into The Area Health Education Centers Scholars Program
Talia Brach was accepted into the Area Health Education Centers Scholars Program (AHEC) for the 2023-2025 Cohort! She will complete this alongside her MPH program. This scholar’s program will expand her knowledge of health challenges …
October 20, 2023Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo’s Celebration of Promotion to Full Professor
The Okonkwo Lab, family, and friends gathered to celebrate Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo’s promotion to Full Professor during an evening filled with laughter, food, music, and dancing. We are all so proud of Dr. Okonkwo and …
October 19, 2023Joe Strong’s Abstract Accepted as Poster at The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2023 Annual Meeting
Joe’s abstract, A Scoping Review of Social Determinants of Health in Charles Bonnet Syndrome Research, was accepted as a late breaking poster at The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, taking place …
October 5, 2023Ozioma Okonkwo Served as Opponent at Anders Rydström’s PhD Dissertation Defense
Dr. Ozioma Okonkwo served as the Opponent, and also gave an opening lecture, at Anders Rydström’s PhD dissertation defense titled, “Mental stimulation and multimodal trials to prevent cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease” at Karolinska Instituet …
September 20, 2023Alyssa Pandos and Hannatu Amaza Take on New Roles
We are thrilled to have two lab members stepping into new roles in our lab: Alyssa Pandos accepted the Okonkwo Lab Assistant Program Manager position! She will be transitioning from her role as a Clinical …
September 12, 2023Chinenye Odo’s Abstract Accepted for Poster Presentation at APDIM
Chinenye Odo’s abstract “Towards Gender Equity: Evaluating Word Choices of Internal Medicine Residents in Near-Peer Evaluations.” was accepted for poster presentation at the 2023 Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) Fall Conference happening …
August 21, 2023Chinenye Odo’s Abstract Accepted for Presentation at Neuroscience 2023
Chinenye Odo’s abstract “Investigating the relationship between rate pressure product and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively unimpaired late-middle-aged adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease” has been accepted for presentation at Neuroscience 2023 …
August 14, 2023Okonkwo Lab at AAIC 2023
The Okonkwo Lab is at AAIC 2023 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands! Ozioma Okonkwo is giving an oral presentation in a Featured Research Session: Culturally-informed Community-engaged Efforts to Improve Inclusion and Engagement of Underrepresented Ethnocultural Populations …
July 17, 2023Kyle Edmunds’s Manuscript Accepted for Publication
Kyle Edmund’s manuscript titled “Cardiorespiratory fitness attenuates the deleterious effects of sleep apnea on cerebral structure and perfusion in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort study” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease …
June 21, 2023SuperAging Study Spotlighted in Wisconsin State Journal Article
The UW-Madison site of the SuperAging study was the focus of an article recently published in the Wisconsin State Journal. Congratulations to our SuperAging team on making this article happen and a big thank you …
June 16, 2023Ozioma Okonkwo Quoted in Wall Street Journal Article
Ozioma Okonkwo was quoted in a recently published Wall Street Journal article about physical activity and longevity. Read the article here: What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise?
June 16, 2023Monica Bruce Receives VCFA Scholarship
Monica Bruce has received a VCFA Scholarship from UW-Madison to attend one of the Division of Continuing Studies’ Leadership & Management classes! She will participate in a 2-day course on the Fundamentals of Project Management. …
May 26, 2023Gloria Morel’s Proposal Accepted for Oral Presentation
Gloria Morel’s proposal “Culturally sensitive strategies for recruitment and retention of research participants from underrepresented groups” was accepted for an oral presentation at the 2023 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Conference this Fall! Congratulations on this …
May 8, 2023Eli Blum Presents Poster at Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium
Eli Blum presented his poster “Investigating the association of cardiorespiratory fitness and amyloid-β deposition in the precuneus in a cohort enriched with risk for Alzheimer’s disease” at UW-Madison’s Bio152 Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. Congratulations on …
May 8, 2023Talia Brach Accepted into The Master of Public Health Program
Talia Brach has been accepted into the Master of Public Health Program here at UW-Madison! We are thrilled to have Talia remain in the lab during her graduate studies. Congratulations, Talia!
May 8, 2023Gabriella Mamlouk Accepted into Cellular & Molecular Pathology Graduate Program
Gabriella Mamlouk has officially been accepted into the Cellular & Molecular Pathology Graduate Program (CMP) here at UW-Madison! We are excited to “welcome back” Gabriella to the lab. Congratulations, Gabriella!
May 4, 2023Chinenye Odo Offered Travel Fellowship for International Conference
Chinenye Odo has been offered a travel fellowship for the June 22nd, international conference on Risk and Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease in African Americans, by the Aging & Brain Health Alliance at Rutgers University-Newark! Congratulations Chinenye on …
May 4, 2023Chinenye Odo’s Abstract Accepted for Poster Presentation
Chinenye Odo’s abstract submission titled “Towards 3.0: A 10-year update on the Health Professional Shortage Areas in Rural Wisconsin” was accepted for a poster presentation at the Wisconsin Annual Public Health Conference in May! Congratulations, Chinenye!
May 4, 2023Abstracts Accepted for ADRD Research Day 2023
Two lab members’ abstracts were accepted for poster presentation at the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Research Day 2023 in Madison, WI: Chinenye Odo: Investigating the relationship between rate pressure product and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers …
April 19, 2023Healthy Aging Luncheon for Black Older Adults in The Community
The Wisconsin SuperAging Study team (Lexi Nelson, Sammy Bradley, Monica Bruce, and Ozioma Okonkwo) in conjunction with Ms. Deana Wright and Ms. Jeannette Arthur from NewBridge, held a Healthy Aging luncheon for Black older adults …
April 18, 2023Ozioma Okonkwo Promoted to Tenured Professor
Ozioma Okonkwo has been promoted to Full Professor with tenure in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health!! The new rank takes effect June 18, 2023. Congratulations Ozioma on this well deserved recognition! The lab …
April 14, 2023Ira Frahmand and Ozioma Okonkwo Receive NIH R01
Ira Frahmand and Ozioma Okonkwo have received NIH funding for their R01 grant titled, “KLOTHO and Resilience to Synaptic Dysfunction in Preclinical AD.” This award will position the lab to uncover novel insights into the …
April 14, 2023Gabriella Mamlouk Awarded Fellowships
Gabriella Mamlouk was selected for two Fellowships: SciMed Graduate Research Scholars Fellowship (also known as the Advanced Opportunity Fellowship) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the academic year 2023-24 HABS-HD Scholars Program through the HABS-HD …
April 13, 2023Sammy Bradley Accepted to Graduate School
Sammy Bradley was accepted into the Clinical Psychology PhD programs at Marquette University and Ohio State University!! She will be attending Marquette University in Fall 2023. We are so proud – congratulations, Sammy!
April 13, 2023Multiple Abstracts Accepted for Presentation at AAIC 2023
The Okonkwo Lab will be well represented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2023 in Amsterdam, Netherlands! Six lab members’ abstracts were accepted for poster or oral presentations: Ira Frahmand: Klotho protein concentrations as a …
April 4, 2023Welcome Matt and Amber
We are thrilled to have added two more lab members to our growing team! Matt Glittenberg is a Data Scientist. He joins us from the University of Minnesota where he worked as a Data Analyst …
March 27, 2023Welcome New Undergraduate Students
The Okonkwo Lab welcomed 4 new undergraduate students this semester: Avery Rhodes, Caitlin Brommel, Eli Blum, and Sonia Shahzad. We are delighted to have them here!
March 27, 2023- More News