Michaela Vance Awarded 2026 AGE Early Career Scholar

Michaela Vance, a researcher at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in the lab of Shannon Conley, PhD, has been named an Early Career Scholar Awardee at AGE 2026 by the American Aging Association. Vance is a current predoctoral trainee in the T32 program at the University of Oklahoma Center for Geroscience. This recognition highlights her innovative contributions to the field of aging research.

Vance’s work focuses on vascular fragility in the aging brain. By investigating how cellular transitions influence brain health over time, her research aims to uncover mechanisms that drive age-related neurological changes. These insights have the potential to inform new strategies for preventing or slowing cognitive impairment in aging populations.

The American Aging Association’s Early Career Scholar Award celebrates emerging leaders whose work is shaping the future of geroscience. Vance’s recognition underscores the importance of advancing research at the intersection of vascular biology and brain aging.