WVU Professor, Liberty Alumna Melissa Marra, Set to Work with $1.1M Grant to Empower Women 50-Plus
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on March 17, 2025
Melissa Ventura Marra, associate professor of human nutrition and foods in the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is part of a multistate research team awarded a $1,091,218 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to support women’s health and well-being as they age. The project, called StrengthenHER, is an innovative virtual exercise and nutrition program designed to support women over 50 by reducing the risk of sarcopenia.
Sarcopenia—a condition characterized by a loss of muscle mass, strength and function—affects not only functional ability, making everyday activities like climbing stairs difficult, but it can also make managing diabetes and weight more difficult. Treatment for sarcopenia is lacking,
making prevention especially important.
making prevention especially important.
“Age-related muscle loss can begin as early as mid-30s, with some people losing 5% per decade — even those who stay active,” Marra said. “Women are particularly vulnerable due to biological factors like low peak muscle mass and hormonal changes that come along with the menopausal transition.”
The StrengthenHER program will address these issues head-on. Through 32 hours of virtual engagement, including on-demand strength-training videos and weekly nutrition and activity lessons, it will offer a flexible, at-home solution tailored to the needs and preferences of middle-aged and older women. The program, provided free-of-charge to participants, will also provide promotional materials, training resources and an online course for seamless delivery.
Over the next five years, team members from seven universities —WVU, Iowa State University, South Dakota State University, New York University, University of Arkansas, University of Rhode Island and University of the District of Columbia—will work with women aged 50 to 75 in their states, including West Virginia, to create and evaluate a 16-week, extension-delivered, virtual nutrition and strength training program.
In its first year (2025), the multidisciplinary teams will work to create the intervention, with plans to begin participant recruitment early 2026.
“One of the strengths of the project is our team-based approach that leverages our diverse perspectives and skill sets, which can lead to better problem-solving," Marra said.
Marra will collaborate on developing the program’s nutrition curriculum and recruitment of women in West Virginia. The West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute will provide statistical consultation for the project.
The project’s impact will extend beyond its five-year timeline, too.
“The StrengthenHER program will empower women to stay strong, healthy and independent as they age by giving them the knowledge and confidence to overcome barriers they perceive to nutrition and strength training activities,” Marra said.
“And at the end of the five years, not only will we have made an impact on women who participate in this version, we will have created an evidence-based program that can be implemented through Extension services across the nation, fee-of-charge to participants and reaching even more women.”
The collaborators are part of a USDA Multistate Research Project, NE2439: Improving the health span of aging adults through diet and physical activity.
To keep up to date with the StrengthenHer program, visit healthspan.wvu.edu/strengthenher. If you're interested in becoming a participant, complete this interest form, and a team member will contact you once recruitment begins in 2026.
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