San Antonio Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging

With its evolving Cores, enrichment and training programs, and supported research projects, the San Antonio (SA) Nathan Shock Center has for ~25 years provided critical support to investigators locally, nationally and abroad. With its existing and growing intellectual capital, the SA Shock Center is poised to provide (1) an enhanced platform to conduct horizontally-integrated (lifespan, healthspan, pathology, pharmacology) transformative research in the biology of aging, and (2) a springboard for advanced educational and training activities. The Specific Aims of the SA Nathan Shock Center are: 1. To be a leader in research that advances our understanding of the biology of aging 2. To provide a `one-stop-shop' venue to accelerate transformative research in the biology of aging 3. To foster and promote career development of early-stage investigators in aging biology 4. To serve as a resource and partner to investigators from other Shock Centers, institutions, and the public, for dissemination of scientific knowledge and enhancing awareness about aging research To achieve these objectives we have leveraged and streamlined our resources and strengths to create six interrelated cores: 1) Administration and Program Enrichment Core; 2) Research Development (RD) Core; 3) Aging Animal Models and Longevity Assessment Core; 4) Integrative Physiology of Aging Core (IPAC); 5) Pathology Core; and 6) the Analytical Pharmacology and Drug Evaluation Core. These cores will provide an integrated venue to conduct and facilitate carefully phenotyped and well-integrated (i.e. lifespan, healthspan, pathology) aging studies. Using these cores, we will apply genetic, biochemical, and pharmacologic methodologies to several vertebrate animal models including rodents (mice, rats, mole-rats), and marmosets. Based on our past experiences and successes, we fully anticipate that our enhanced platform and training activities will greatly facilitate the identification of molecular and cellular mechanisms that influence aging. This approach will result in novel strategies and the identification of (pharmacologic) targets to extend healthy life expectancy. The SA Shock Center is built on a unique foundation provided by UTHSCSA's exceptional and tightly integrated resources: a Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC), a site of the Interventions Testing Program (ITP), a Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), a T32 Training Grant on Geroscience, and a robust Barshop Institute that unites aging research at UTHSCSA. We are the only Shock Center with all of these synergistic components available. In addition, the SA Shock Center receives unparalleled institutional commitment (~$500,000/year), including a new ~$100M 109,000 sq. ft. building – specific for the Barshop Institute – that will house the Shock Center, the Claude Pepper OAIC and the ITP in a centrally located facility.