Wilmot Physician Receives National Leadership Award in Cancer and Aging

The National Institute on Aging awarded $1.2 million to Allison Magnuson, D.O., as part of an effort to support talented physicians and scientists who are expected to lead the next generation in aging research.

 

Magnuson received the Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging. It is a top honor that highlights investigators with leadership skills who have already received competitive research support at the faculty level. Magnuson plans to use the grant to adapt an existing memory-and-attention therapy program for use in older breast cancer patients. She will evaluate the program in a pilot study for its feasibility and impact. 

The NIA recognized Magnuson as an early-stage investigator who is “well poised to change theory, practice, and health outcomes related to the health of older individuals.” The grant funds five years of research, which is relevant for the fast-growing number of Americans aged 65 and older. The number of “oldest old” — those people who are 85 and older — is expected to triple between 2010 and 2050.

 

As a dual-trained geriatric oncologist at the Wilmot Cancer Institute and an assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Magnuson sees patients at the Comprehensive Breast Center. She also is director of Wilmot’s SOCARE clinic (Specialized Oncology Care and Research in the Elderly), one of the few geriatric oncology clinics in the country.

Magnuson’s local mentors include Supriya Mohile, M.D., Michelle Janelsins, Ph.D., Feng Lin, Ph.D., Marsha Wittink, M.D., Gary Morrow, Ph.D., and Eva Culakova, Ph.D.