CARES Award Recipient

Marlene Starr

Marlene E. Starr, PhD, is an associate professor and chief of the Division of Research Department of Surgery at the University of Kentucky with a joint appointment in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 2011 and completed training as a postdoctoral at the University of Kentucky in 2014. The mission of Starr’s laboratory is to understand the biological processes that contribute to high morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis. Her current focus is related to obesity and understanding why overweight and moderately obese patients are counterintuitively protected from sepsis. Her work also seeks to understand age-related changes in adipose tissue physiology, with a focus on immune cells, which could predispose older adults to aberrant responses during acute and chronic inflammatory events. 

Aside from her research, Starr serves on the Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma Study Section within the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review, is an advocate for the appropriate and humane use of animals in research by serving as chair of the Laboratory Animals Issues Committee within the Shock Society and member of the FASEB Animals in Research and Education Subcommittee, and is highly involved in Women in Medicine and Science which prioritizes networking, mentorship, and career development for women.

Use of award: Cover care for a dependent parent while presenting work at the Glenn American Federation for Aging Research Grantee Conference and Shock Society Annual Conference.  

Marlene Starr is a member of American Aging Association and Shock Society, FASEB member societies.