Our scholars program has supported early-career faculty at the University of Florida who pursue aging-related research. Pepper Scholars receive salary, research and travel funding for two years, as well as mentoring from senior UF faculty who oversee the junior scholar’s training and research efforts.
Select a name or scroll down to learn more about each scholar’s project.
- Lakeshia Cousin, PhD
- Clayton Swanson, PhD
- Sudeshna Chatterjee, PhD
- Scott Martin Vouri, PhD
- Joshua Brown, PhD
- Yu-Jung “Jenny” Wei, PhD
Year 2023
Lakeshia Cousin
- Assistant Professor in UF Family, Community and Health Systems Science
- Project: “A Pilot Feasibility Study of a Gratitude Journaling Intervention to Enhance Well-being and Exercise Readiness in Older African American Female Breast Cancer Survivors”
Clayton Swanson
- Research Assistant Professor, UF Department of Neurology
- Project: “Development of a Home-based Self-delivered Pre-habilitation Intervention to Proactively Reduce Fall Risk in Older Adults”
Year 2020
Sudeshna Chatterjee
- Post-doctoral Associate, UF Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science
- Project: “Investigating COMT Genotype Association with Mobility Decline and Falls in Older Adults”
Year 2019
Scott Martin Vouri
- Assistant Professor, UF Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
- Project: studied a type of drug-induced adverse event called a prescribing cascade in older adults.
Year 2017
Joshua Brown
- Assistant Professor, UF Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
- Project: assessed the long-term effects of physical activity interventions in older adults with the goal of evaluating the cost effectiveness of these interventions.
Yu-Jung “Jenny” Wei
- Assistant Professor, UF Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
- Project: examined the quality of pain medications prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients to improve the understanding of current pain treatment practices.
About the Pepper Scholars
The Pepper Scholars program is part of the University of Florida’s Claude D. Pepper Older American’s Independence Center. UF is part of a national network of centers and the only center in Florida. These centers receive funding from the National Institutes on Aging to study ways for older adults to maintain or restore their independence. The centers are named in honor of the late U.S. Senator Claude D. Pepper from Florida who championed efforts to create these centers of excellence.