Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute on Aging awarded a $700,795 Project Grant to the University of California, San Diego, effective February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2031, under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866). The grant supports the development and deployment of Raman Enhanced Determination of Cell Atlas and Typing (REDCAT), an integrated platform designed to map single-cell metabolic activity in complex lymphoid tissues. The research focuses on understanding thymic aging and immune senescence by examining thymic epithelial cell senescence, abnormal metabolic dynamics including lipid metabolism, and the systemic effects of immune function decline. Primary deliverables include development of REDCAT for single-cell resolution profiling of cellular senescence in lymphoid tissues, integration of spatial transcriptome sequencing analysis (DBIT-based) to examine senescence-associated transcriptomic mechanisms, and investigation of phenotypic and metabolomic heterogeneity in senescent cells using wild-type, lineage-tracked, and FGF21 mouse models.

This research addresses fundamental questions about how metabolic alterations and cellular senescence in immune organs contribute to aging-related dysfunction. The grant supports the creation of novel scientific tools and methods that will enhance the field's capability to understand the mechanisms underlying immunosenescence and its impact on organism-level aging, aligning with the National Institute on Aging's mission to support biomedical research directed toward greater understanding of the aging process and age-related diseases.