image: The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2026 Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty: Erika Cyphert, PhD, Assistant Professor of Shu Chien-Gene Lay Bioengineering Department, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego. Established in 2020, the Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty is a one- to two-year award of $160,000 given to junior faculty (MDs and PhDs) to conduct aging-related Omics (GerOmics) research.
Credit: Image: David Baillot/University of California San Diego
NEW YORK — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2026 Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty: Erika Cyphert, PhD, Assistant Professor of Shu Chien-Gene Lay Bioengineering Department, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego. Established in 2020, the Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty is a one- to two-year award of $160,000 given to junior faculty (MDs and PhDs) to conduct aging-related Omics (GerOmics) research.
Omics is a rapidly evolving, multi-disciplinary, and emerging field that encompasses genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. These biological disciplines use advanced technology to comprehensively analyze and quantify entire collections of biological molecules, such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites. Each of these fields offers the possibility to understand and view biology from a global perspective in a way that was previously unthinkable. Given the biological complexity and heterogeneity of the aging process, omics research can play an important role in providing important insights into the aging process and many age-related diseases.
Dr. Cyphert’s funded project is titled “Uncovering how reproductive aging influences host-microbe metabolic interactions.”
A normal part of aging is entering menopause, an understudied aspect of life that can make up one third of the lifespan. Healthcare providers currently determine vaginal health using information mostly gathered from women who have not yet gone through menopause. As a result, it can be difficult to tell whether a postmenopausal woman has a vaginal health problem or whether her body’s normal, healthy changes are simply different because of aging. Dr. Cyphert’s lab will study the types of microbes found in the vagina after menopause and how they function. The goal is to establish clearer guidelines for what a healthy or unhealthy vaginal microbiome looks like in postmenopausal women. This could help doctors provide more accurate diagnoses and better treatments.
Dr. Cyphert’s research brings together a multi-disciplinary team of bioengineers, clinicians, and physician scientists to develop novel imaging and microbial sequencing modalities to understand how microbial structure and function changes with menopause. This is particularly impactful because it uses a systems-level approach combining cutting- edge imaging with omics datasets (metabolomics, metagenomics) to identify microbes and metabolites that can be used in future studies to make mechanistic determinations of vaginal health, based on menopause status.
“In an age of rapidly growing technologies to interpret big data sets, GerOmics research is a particularly novel approach to aging research and geroscience” says Stephanie Lederman, EdM, Executive Director, AFAR. “AFAR is pleased to continue our collaboration with the Sagol Network to encourage early career investigators to focus their research on this vital emerging field that can help advance our understanding of the complex biology of aging in order to find interventions to help us all live healthier, longer."
Learn more about AFAR’s Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty here.
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About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For nearly half a century, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing nearly $232,000,000 to close to 4,600 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. In 2026, AFAR expects to provide approximately $6,522,000 to 56 investigators through a range of programs. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high-quality grant programs and inter-disciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org.
About the Sagol Network - The Sagol Network was set up by the Sagol Family with a vision to support and accelerate advanced research, education and therapy inthe fields of Neuroscience & Healthy lifespan. Under the leadership of Sami Sagol, the family set up a virtual network of schools & research centers based in leading academic and medical institutions promoting multidisciplinary projects, laboratories, and technologies. Among these, The Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center at Sheba Medical Centre, Sagol Institute for Longevity Research, Weizmann Institute, The Sagol Center for Neurobiology & Ethology and Emily Sagol Center for Creative Art Therapy at Haifa University, Sagol Healthy Human Longevity Center at Bar-Ilan University, Sagol center for Brain & Mind at the IDC , The Sagol Brain center at Sourasky (Tel Aviv) medical center, The Sagol program for computational healthcare at Hebrew University, Kahn-Sagol-Maccabi Health Data Science Institute and The Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine &Research at Shamir Medical Center. The Sagol Network’s philanthropic efforts have also extended to 'bridge' & promote collaborations between Ivy league institutions throughout the world, with initiatives such as Sagol MIT-Weizmann Bridge program, Sagol-Kandel Brain Longevity Initiative at Columbia University, and The Sagol Center for Epigenetics of Metabolism and Aging between Monash University, in Sydney and Tel Aviv Medical Center. The Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty with American Federation for Aging Research exemplifies the Sagol Network’s global approach.