This $485,375 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) will fund research at the University of Washington to investigate genomic alterations in skeletal muscle associated with aging. The key objectives are to: Explore if alternative splicing of mRNA results in quantitative differential isoform changes associated with aging, potentially leading to increased expression of non-functional proteins relevant for healthy muscle function. The researchers...
This $485,375 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) will support the development and evaluation of a 3D engineered muscle tissue model to study the metabolic response to muscle contraction in the context of aging. The University of Washington, a prominent research institution, will lead this 2-year project to: 1) examine the mitochondrial mechanisms underlying the decreased metabolic response to muscle contraction in aged human 3D engineered...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) provides $402,500 to Duke University to conduct research on the role of glutamine metabolism in regulating muscle stem cell function. The research aims to: 1) determine if glutamine-driven bidirectional metabolism is necessary for muscle stem cell function and myogenesis, 2) investigate how glutamine metabolism is impaired in aged muscle stem cells and whether restoring this pathway can reverse age-related...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under CFDA 93.866 (Aging Research) provides $1,130,661.00 to the Regents of the University of Michigan to conduct research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying motor unit expansion, a compensatory process that preserves muscle function during aging and neurodegenerative conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The project aims to: (I) characterize how Schwann cell populations and their signaling...
This Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866), provides $287,218.16 in funding to the University of Maryland, Baltimore from August 1, 2021 through March 27, 2022. The award supports research aimed at better understanding the impact of aging on muscle excitability and action potential conduction velocity. Specifically, the recipient will use electrophysiology techniques and optical imaging to examine...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $1,127,548 to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to investigate the role of post-translational modifications of myosin and its chaperone UNC-45 in the development of sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function. The project aims to use a combination of in vitro biochemical and biophysical assays, as well as in vivo techniques in the C. elegans model organism,...
This $847,000 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) supports research by The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc. (MCW) to determine whether extracellular vesicle-enclosed Y5-RNA mediates the age-dependent impairment of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels). The research aims to examine if decreases in Y5-RNA in endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles contribute to endothelial cell senescence and impaired angiogenesis in aged...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 Aging Research) provides $141,890 to the University of Arkansas to examine the role of the MYC gene in regulating skeletal muscle function, metabolism, and age-related decline. The primary objectives are to: 1) analyze functional, bioenergetic, and cellular changes in skeletal muscle with pulsatile MYC induction and exercise across the lifespan; 2) perform single-cell RNA sequencing and DNA methylation analyses in...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to the University of Washington provides $485,375 to investigate the mechanisms underlying reduced resilience and adaptability of aging skeletal muscle. The project aims to determine whether increased mitochondrial redox stress drives the impairment of redox stress response signaling and declining muscle function with age. The researchers will use skeletal muscle contraction as a model to examine the...
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded a $639,997 Project Grant (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Corporation to investigate how exercise regulates molecular circuitry in cartilage and the knee joint to promote cartilage integrity and joint health in the context of knee osteoarthritis. The 5-year project aims to provide mechanistic insights into how molecular cargoes in circulating extracellular vesicles impact osteoarthritic knee joint health in a...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) provides $3,343,725 to The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Corporation to investigate the effects of muscle aging and activity on extracellular vesicle regulation of muscle regeneration. The primary goals are to: 1) examine how aging of the skeletal muscle extracellular matrix alters the molecular composition of muscle-derived extracellular vesicles and impacts muscle stem cell myogenicity and functional regeneration; and 2) determine how muscle activity can rejuvenate extracellular matrix biophysical properties and extracellular vesicle cargoes to support muscle stem cell-mediated muscle regeneration. This research will be conducted in collaboration with sub-awardees at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Carnegie Mellon University, who will contribute expertise in statistical methodology, microfluidics, and machine learning. The award period runs from August 2024 through April 2029.