NIH grant funds coordinating center on aging research

The National Institutes of Health will award up to $4 million over five years to a consortium including Baylor College of Medicine, the Tulane National Primate Research Center and the California National Primate Research Center to establish a coordinating center for research on aging. This award underscores the leadership of these three organizations in advancing understanding of aging across primate species, information that could unlock new ways to improve human health and longevity.

Led by Dr. Jay Rappaport, director of the Tulane National Primate Research Center, Dr. Jeffrey Rogers of Baylor College of Medicine, and Dr. John Morrison of University of California at Davis, the aging coordinating center will bring together results from aging-related research across humans and nonhuman primates. The Tulane primate center will serve as the project lead. The consortium will be a central hub supporting several complementary research grants that examine factors influencing aging and longevity.

Nonhuman primates share significant aspects of physiology, genetics and neurobiology with humans. Some primate species live less than five years while other species can live up to 50 years or more. By comparing life spans, life histories and aging outcomes between humans and various nonhuman primates, scientists aim to identify key factors that influence aging processes. A better understanding of the factors controlling longevity across primates could translate into new strategies for promoting healthier aging in humans.

"We at Baylor College of Medicine are excited to play this important role in advancing knowledge of the processes that influence healthy aging and lifespan," said Rogers, associate professor in the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor. "Nonhuman primates provide a natural experiment in lifespan extension. The comparisons among species that this program is designed to support will increase our understanding of some basic elements of aging. In that way we will generate new insights that we hope will translate into improved health and well-being in humans."

The goal of the new coordinating center will be to manage data, coordinate across research studies and ensure that research results are highly reliable and replicable. This approach helps avoid unnecessary duplication of studies and resources, including animal subjects, and ensures that each study complements the others. Baylor researchers also will focus on supporting and developing the genetic and genomic aspects of these comparative studies. The funding for this aging consortium comes from the National Institute on Aging, a branch of the NIH, reflecting a strong commitment to advancing our understanding of aging through comparative research.

"This grant is a testament to the cutting-edge research capabilities of the TNPRC and our partners," Rappaport said. "By bringing together a diverse group of specialists, the coordinating center on aging will facilitate innovative research that could lead to breakthroughs in understanding the biology of aging, ultimately benefiting human health and longevity."