University of Rochester Awarded Prestigious Aging Research Center Grant

The National Institutes of Health has awarded University of Rochester aging researcher Vera Gorbunova, PhD, a prestigious Nathan Shock Center grant. The grant will provide nearly $1 million per year over the next five years to establish the Upstate NY Comparative Biology of Aging Nathan Shock Center.

Lifespans vary widely—more than 100-fold—across the animal kingdom. The new center will compare the biology of various long- and short-lived animal species to identify biological mechanisms that promote longevity.

“It is about making people healthier overall,” says Gorbunova, the Doris Johns Cherry Professor of Biology, co-director of the Rochester Aging Research Center, and professor of Geriatrics/Aging at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “It really is about preventing all diseases.”

Gorbunova will lead a transdisciplinary team of faculty spanning the University and Medical Center, with expertise in veterinary biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics.

“There are only eight centers like this in the country, so receiving this grant really puts us on the map in a more prominent way,” says Gorbunova.