Two College of Pharmacy researchers named Pepper Scholars

Dr. Joshua Brown

University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers Joshua Brown, Pharm.D., Ph.D., M.S., and Yu-Jung “Jenny” Wei, Ph.D., M.S., were selected as Pepper Scholars by the UF Institute on Aging. The scholars program receives parent funding from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging to support junior faculty at UF who focus on aging-related research. Pepper Scholars receive salary, research and travel funding for two years, as well as mentoring from senior UF faculty who oversee the junior scholar’s training and research efforts.

Dr. Jenny Wei

Brown and Wei are both assistant professors of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy. His research will assess the long-term effects of physical activity interventions in older adults with the goal of evaluating the cost effectiveness of these interventions. Her research will examine the quality of pain medications prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients to improve the understanding of current pain treatment practices.

The Peppers Scholars program is an extension of the University of Florida’s Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. UF is one of 15 centers nationally, and the only center in Florida, to be designated as a Pepper Center. UF and the other centers receive funding from the National Institutes on Aging to study ways for older adults to maintain or restore their independence. The centers are named in honor of the late U.S. Senator Claude D. Pepper from Florida who championed efforts to create these centers of excellence.