This semester, UMB is hosting three Fellows from Costa Rica as part of the Alicia and Yaya Initiative in Aging Research, which provides support to UMB and University of Costa Rica students and scholars to study and learn together through fellowships, collaborative learning opportunities, symposia, seed funding, and other means of financial support.

The Alicia and Yaya Fellowship in Global Aging Research brings selected pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to study at UMB or UCR in individualized programs that include courses, mentoring, and participation in research programs. This year's Fellows from UCR are:

Ericka Méndez-Chacón, MSc.

A Full Professor and Researcher in UCR's Statistics Department, Dr. Méndez-Chacón will compare determinants of health inequalities in elderly populations of Costa Rica and the United States.

Mónica Cortés-Ortiz

A former Research Trainee at UCR's Health Research Institute, Mónica will investigate interplay between dietary, genetic, and environmental factors in relation to aging and different complex diseases in older adults.

In addition, the Alicia and Yaya Initiative in Aging Research's Faculty Exchange Fellows are UCR and UMB faculty members with an established record of research in aging or a related field who will use the Fellowship to conduct research at the partner institution as part of a collaborative research team or using shared data and resources.

Carolina Santamaria-Ulloa, PhD

Dr. Santamaria-Ulloa is the Director and Researcher of the Institute for Health Research, Associate Professor at the Human Nutrition Department and the Public Health and Human Nutrition Graduate Programs, all at the Universidad de Costa Rica. During her Fellowship, she will be working with Dr. Amanda Lehning, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Together they will compare the determinants of health inequalities in the elderly populations of Costa Rica and the United States.

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