$144M Awarded for Age-Related Illness & Longevity Research | Forbes, UT Health, Brown & More
A new wave of federal funding, totaling up to $144 million, is being directed towards research aimed at understanding and ultimately extending the years of healthy life for Americans. The initiative, spearheaded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), focuses on identifying early markers of aging and developing therapies to intervene before age-related illnesses take hold.
Announced on , the program, known as PROactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience (PROSPR), will support seven research teams across the United States. The goal is a significant shift in how we approach aging – moving away from simply treating diseases as they arise, and towards proactively addressing the underlying biological processes that contribute to their development.
Currently, the vast majority of older adults live with chronic conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 90% of individuals over 65 have at least one chronic condition, and approximately 80% have two or more. PROSPR aims to change this trajectory by targeting the fundamental biology of aging itself.
“Defeating chronic, debilitating diseases will not just take new therapies, but novel and evidence-based prevention approaches,” said ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson, Ph.D. “PROSPR represents a tectonic shift in how we study healthy aging. ARPA-H will push the envelope on new biomarkers, interventions, and clinical trial designs that bring us closer to therapies that can help all Americans stay healthier for longer.”
One of the projects receiving substantial funding – up to $22 million – is a collaboration between researchers at Brown University and the University of Rochester. This team will investigate whether a drug originally developed to treat HIV can reduce inflammation triggered by DNA, a process believed to contribute to age-related decline. The study will involve clinical trials with healthy older adults, a departure from traditional research that typically focuses on individuals already exhibiting signs of disease.
Vera Gorbunova, co-director of the Rochester Aging Research Center, and John Sedivy, director of the Center on the Biology of Aging at Brown, will lead this effort. “What’s new and really exciting about this project is that the goal is not to treat diseases, but to treat aging itself — the normal, healthy process of human aging,” explained Sedivy. “While aging has been successfully slowed down in model organisms and even in primates, this project will launch a large, credible clinical trial with healthy older people to see if a drug can slow the human aging process.”
The rationale behind targeting inflammation stems from the observation that as we age, our bodies accumulate damage to DNA. This damage triggers an immune response, leading to chronic inflammation. Researchers hypothesize that reducing this inflammation could help preserve health and function in later life.
Another research team at UT Health San Antonio is set to receive up to $38 million from ARPA-H, establishing the institution as a national leader in aging and healthy longevity science. Linnaeus Therapeutics has also been awarded up to $22 million to advance LNS8801, a therapeutic aimed at healthspan preservation.
Beyond these specific projects, the broader PROSPR program emphasizes the need for new biomarkers – measurable indicators of biological processes – to track the effectiveness of interventions. Traditional clinical trials often take years to demonstrate a benefit, waiting for a disease to manifest. By identifying early markers of aging, researchers hope to assess the impact of therapies much more quickly, and efficiently.
The challenges in this field are significant. The aging process is complex and multifaceted, influenced by genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Developing therapies that can effectively slow or reverse aging will require a deep understanding of these intricate interactions. Clinical trials designed to assess healthspan are inherently long-term, requiring sustained commitment from both researchers and participants.
Despite these hurdles, the substantial investment from ARPA-H signals a growing recognition of the importance of proactive aging research. The potential benefits – a future where individuals can enjoy more years of healthy, active life – are substantial, and the ongoing research promises to reshape our understanding of aging and disease.
Construction and transportation projects across the country are also progressing, with updates from Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Arkansas, and Connecticut. These projects, while seemingly unrelated to aging research, highlight ongoing infrastructure improvements and economic activity nationwide. For example, C.J. Fucci Construction is continuing a stormwater sewage separation effort in New Haven, Connecticut, aiming to improve stormwater management in the region.