In a significant advancement for the field of aging research, the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) has secured a five-year renewal grant totaling $5,722,435 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This substantial funding will enable AFAR to continue and expand its leadership of the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (NSC3), a pivotal organization charged with the orchestration and facilitation of eight Nathan Shock Centers (NSCs) dedicated to the basic biology of aging. The NSCs are essential research hubs providing expert resources, innovative methodologies, and collaborative frameworks to propel the understanding of aging at a molecular, cellular, and systemic level.
Established in 1995 to honor Dr. Nathan Shock, a seminal figure in gerontological research and founding head of the NIH Gerontology Research Center, the Nathan Shock Centers have built a formidable network of research centers across the United States that focus on unraveling the biological mechanisms underlying aging processes. This year’s funding initiative will support the development of three newly awarded NSCs at the University of Minnesota, University of Rochester, and University of Wisconsin. These new centers complement the existing five NSCs located at The Jackson Laboratory, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, University of Washington, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and University of Alabama at Birmingham. Collectively, these centers establish a robust infrastructure dedicated to pioneering research on aging biology.
The mission of the NIA, one of the 27 institutes and centers under the NIH umbrella, is to deepen scientific knowledge about aging and its associated diseases, with an overarching goal to increase the quantity and quality of healthy, active years in the human lifespan. Central to this mission is the Division of Aging Biology (DAB), which hosts both the NSC3 and the NSCs. The NSCs provide not only intellectual leadership but also tangible assets—such as core facilities for omics analysis, bioinformatics, animal models, and novel imaging technologies—and offer training programs to nurture the next generation of aging researchers. Through this coordinated effort, the NSCs exemplify a collaborative model, sharing data and resources while aligning methodologies to accelerate discovery.
Since its establishment in 2017, the NSC3 has functioned as the nerve center coordinating the broad spectrum of activities across the Nathan Shock Centers. AFAR has directed the NSC3 with a clear focus on fostering collaboration, enhancing visibility, and streamlining resource sharing. The latest renewal will empower NSC3 to intensify these initiatives, elevating the profile of the Nathan Shock Centers both nationally and internationally. Under the stewardship of AFAR’s Scientific Director Steven N. Austad, PhD, Executive Director Stephanie Lederman, EdM, and Deputy Executive Director Odette van der Willik, the NSC3 is poised to deliver a strengthened platform for scientific exchange and innovation.
Technical advances in aging biology have increasingly revealed the complex interplay of genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, and metabolic factors that dictate the aging trajectory. The Nathan Shock Centers have been at the forefront of these breakthroughs, integrating systems biology approaches with traditional experimental techniques. By coordinating these centers, NSC3 amplifies the impact of isolated discoveries, enabling the rapid translation of basic biological insights into strategies aimed at extending healthspan. This coordination not only optimizes funding efficiencies but also accelerates cross-disciplinary integration, from molecular biology to clinical gerontology.
Moreover, the NSC3 facilitates seamless interaction with NIA leadership and program staff, ensuring that research efforts are aligned with national priorities and that emerging scientific opportunities are rapidly supported. The centers under the NSC3 umbrella provide invaluable mentorship and career development opportunities, equipping early-stage investigators with the skills and resources needed to innovate within the field. The centers’ collective intellectual capital has catalyzed the emergence of novel interventions targeting cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, stem cell exhaustion, and chronic inflammation—key hallmarks of aging that contribute to age-related diseases.
The operational model of the NSC3 is especially critical given the increasing complexity of aging research, which demands multidisciplinary collaboration and the integration of high-throughput technologies. By centralizing administration, data management, and outreach, NSC3 reduces redundancy and fosters a culture of shared responsibility and openness. This approach enhances reproducibility and rigor in research, addressing critical issues in biomedical sciences. Importantly, the NSC3 also plays a strategic role in identifying gaps in knowledge, facilitating workshops and symposia that generate consensus and new hypotheses for exploration.
NIA’s renewed commitment to the NSC3 acknowledges the essential role this coordinating center plays in bridging basic biological research with translational and clinical applications. Through this infrastructure, investigators gain access to unique resources such as specialized animal models of aging, longitudinal datasets, and advanced bioinformatics pipelines that enable multi-omic integration. Such resources are indispensable for dissecting complex biological phenomena and identifying potential targets for therapeutic development aimed at ameliorating age-associated morbidities.
The NSC3-led collaboration represents a paradigm shift in how fundamental aging biology is studied. This cooperative network embodies a vision where innovation is accelerated not in isolation but through collective endeavor, where discoveries from one center can be immediately contextualized and validated across multiple platforms. This strategic coordination ensures that breakthroughs in cellular and molecular mechanisms translate efficiently into strategies for disease prevention, diagnostics, and interventions that enhance human longevity.
In her remarks, Viviana Perez Montes, Director of the NIA Division of Aging Biology, emphasized that the renewal signifies confidence in the NSC3 leadership and its potential to significantly advance global aging research efforts. She noted that the NSC3’s ability to unify diverse research streams and promote scalable solutions is critical for overcoming the fundamental challenges posed by aging biology. This holistic integration holds promise not only for extending lifespan but improving quality of life by mitigating the functional decline typically associated with advancing age.
To explore the cutting-edge work underway at the Nathan Shock Centers, interested parties can visit the official Nathan Shock Centers website, which offers resources and updates on research themes, investigator profiles, and opportunities for collaboration. The DS3 is funded under NIH Award Number 2U24AG056053-04, exemplifying long-term federal investment that underpins this high-impact research consortium.
The American Federation for Aging Research continues to play a pivotal role in this ecosystem. Founded over forty years ago, AFAR has been a beacon for funding pioneering biomedical research focused on aging, investing over $212 million in thousands of investigators worldwide. With track records of fostering cross-disciplinary innovations, AFAR strategizes both at the scientific and policy levels to maximize the societal benefits of aging research. It also manages complementary initiatives such as the Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research Coordinating Center (ClIN-STARR) and the Research Centers Collaborative Network, bolstering the infrastructure supporting aging research across domains.
AFAR’s vision and management have been vital in sustaining the momentum of the Nathan Shock Centers program, enabling a fertile research environment that bridges the gap between molecular discoveries and their practical applications to human healthspan. As biomedical research continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in aging sciences, coordinated efforts like those led by the NSC3 remain indispensable.
Subject of Research: Biology of Aging and Coordination of Nathan Shock Centers
Article Title: AFAR’s Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center Secures Major Five-Year Renewal to Advance Aging Biology Research
News Publication Date: Not specified in the source content
Web References:
- Nathan Shock Centers: http://www.nathanshockcenters.org/
- American Federation for Aging Research: http://www.afar.org/
- Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research Coordinating Center: http://www.clin-star.org/
- Research Centers Collaborative Network Coordinating Center: http://www.rccn-aging.org/
References: Not explicitly provided in the source content
Image Credits: Logo courtesy of AFAR and the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (NSC3)
Keywords: Human health, aging biology, Nathan Shock Centers, AFAR, National Institute on Aging, aging research coordination
