Dr. Gurkar received her undergraduate degree in biology from Florida International University and her Ph.D. from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School & Broad Institute and then at Scripps Research Institute, Florida. She was awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence grant from the National Institute on Aging. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Aging Institute and the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Her lab focuses on defining the metabolic and senescence signatures of human aging. She is funded by the NIH, AFAR/Hevolution, National Academy of Medicine Longevity grant, and RK Mellon Foundation. Outside of the lab, Dr. Gurkar is involved in multiple community outreach programs to engage people in ‘healthy aging’ initiatives.