Wei Wei is a 2026 recipient of a Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Grant for Junior Faculty from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR). This year, four researchers received the award, which provides early-career investigators with up to $160,000 for up to two years of support for research focused on aging processes and age-related diseases.
“I feel very grateful to the Foundation for helping to fund my research and the research of other young scientists. Their support allows my lab to cross boundaries and apply our research to the field of aging,” says Wei, whose lab primarily focuses on nutrient biochemistry and metabolism. “AFAR’s support of early-career scientists means important research can happen that is actually going to make the world a better place over time.”
As part of his doctoral research, Wei developed mass spectrometry methods to track when how different tissues secrete proteins into the blood during exercise. He then used these methods to study the proteins’ physiological roles and their potential therapeutic applications.
With funding from AFAR, Wei will apply these methods to study proteins secreted in elderly, but not young, mice. These proteins may play a role in promoting or inhibiting healthy aging, Wei says. This work could identify new targets for mitigating negative health impacts of aging.
“The field of aging and related diseases has been very welcoming of me, even though my research has mostly been outside of this field,” says Wei. “I can learn from the biological context and expertise of those in the field, and we can work collaboratively toward a shared goal of healthy aging.”
You can read Wei’s AFAR researcher profile here and learn more about the award here.
Wei is also a 2026-2028 REC Scholar. The REC Scholars program is led by the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Research Education Component (REC) and is intended to support training for individual researchers who are interested in working on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research.