KL2 Scholar joins Department of Medicine faculty

Satchidanand.

Nikhil Satchidanand, PhD

Published February 20, 2018 This content is archived.

Nikhil Satchidanand, PhD, one of the first KL2 Scholars in the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Award-linked KL2 Mentored Career Development Award (MCDA) program, has joined the faculty of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Department of Medicine as an assistant professor, it was announced in February. 

A trailblazer in the KL2 MCDA program

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“The appointment of Dr. Satchidanand to a faculty position is a huge win for him, for the KL2 program and for the Department of Medicine. ”
Timothy F. Murphy, MD
SUNY Distinguished Professor and director of the CTSI
murphy.

“Dr. Satchidanand’s commitment to excellence, his devotion to research and collegiality have been key ingredients in shaping his career,” said Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, and the principal investigator and lead of the KL2 program. “As an assistant professor of medicine he will continue his successful research program and cultivate productive collaborations within the CTSI.”

The primary goal of the KL2 program is to provide translational research mentoring, professional development and funding to outstanding junior faculty and senior fellows as they transition to independent faculty positions. The program is funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under the Clinical and Translational Science Award-linked KL2 Mentored Career Development Award that was granted to UB in August 2015.

“Dr. Satchidanand was one of two scholars appointed to the emerging KL2 Mentored Career Development Award program in January of 2016, where he contributed to shaping the program as co-chair of the Community of Scholars and as a member of the KL2 leadership team,” said Dubocovich.

“The appointment of Dr. Satchidanand to a faculty position is a huge win for him, for the KL2 program and for the Department of Medicine,” said Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and director of the CTSI. “This position will give him the opportunity to continue to develop his research program that has the potential to have a major impact on health in the elderly.”

“We are thrilled that Dr. Satchidanand will be joining the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine,” said Bruce R. Troen, MD, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, director of the UB Center for Successful Aging, and co-director of the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease. “Nik’s interests in the interplay between physical activity and cognition as we age make for an excellent fit with ongoing research on frailty and physical performance, and align extremely well with our activities in both the Center for Successful Aging and the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Satchidanand’s research program is focused on developing innovative ways to manage cognitive decline in older patients. Prior to his appointment in the Department of Medicine, Satchidanand had been a research assistant professor in UB’s Department of Family Medicine since April 2013. He received his PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education in December 2010.

The KL2 Mentored Career Development Award Program is funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number KL2TR001413 to the University at Buffalo.