Two alumni from the UVA School of Education and Human Development’s kinesiology programs, Colby Mangum and Austin Hogwood, were recently selected for the prestigious National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program.
“This is a competitive program that awards productive scientists who demonstrate both prior scientific achievements and potential for future impact through novel research,” said Jay Hertel, chair of the Department of Kinesiology. “We are thrilled for Colby and Austin and look forward to following their careers.”
The program was established by Congress to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. It repays up to $50,000 annually of a researcher’s educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research. According to the NIH, the funding is “an investment in the future of health discovery and the wellbeing of the nation.”
“Thanks to generous donors, teaching work, and departmental grant support, we are able to fully fund our kinesiology Ph.D. students through their doctoral training,” said Professor Sue Saliba, “but many of our students have debt associated with their undergraduate or master’s programs. These awards are a game-changer for the recipients and a testament to the high-quality, impactful research our alumni are producing.”
Hogwood graduated in 2023 with his Ph.D. in exercise physiology. He is currently completing a post-doctoral fellowship in cardiology with UVA Health, where he and his team are researching how an anti-inflammatory treatment impacts quality of life, exercise capacity, cardiac function, and inflammatory blood activity in patients who have recently experienced a large heart attack.
“As someone from a disadvantaged background, I am eternally grateful to both the NIH and to those who have mentored me to allow me this opportunity,” he said. “Having a lower burden of student loan debt will allow me to focus more on research in an academic setting, and hopefully make a bigger difference through my scientific efforts.”