Vankee Lin Receives Provost's Furth Award | University of Rochester School of Nursing

Feng (Vankee) Lin, PHD, RN, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, was recently named one of two recipients of the University of Rochester Furth Fund Award.

The Valerie and Frank Furth Fund, awarded by Provost Peter Lennie, promotes the research activities of promising scientists in the natural and biological sciences by supporting postdoctoral or graduate students or funding new equipment purchases.

The $10,000 award will support Lin’s research examining how “supernormals” – older adults who have maintained their memory capacity substantially better than their peers – preserve their cognitive health in their advanced age.

“I’m very appreciative of this award, which will help me to help establish an innovative and exciting research area,” said Lin. “Historically, researchers have looked at memory deterioration as an inevitable part of the aging process.

Here, we’re looking at the other end of the brain spectrum. Identifying how supernormals regulate stress may help increase our understanding of healthy aging and assist in developing strategies to enhance cognitive aging.”

Lin is the first UR Nursing research to receive the award. She joins Douglas Kelley, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, as the 2016 awardees.

Lin joined the UR  Nursing faculty in 2013 and currently carries joint appointments as an assistant professor in nursing, the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science. She is also director of the CogT Laboratory, which focuses on preventing cognitive decline and promotes successful cognitive aging.