Finding aging (senescent) cells in muscle, ovaries, and breast tissue
Official title: Mapping and validating senescent cells in human muscle, ovary and breast
Funded at Buck Institute for Research on Aging · NIH-11176286 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks for specific signs of aging cells in muscle, ovaries, and breast tissue from people of different ages to better understand how aging changes those tissues.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Buck Institute for Research on Aging NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Novato, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $940,921 |
| NIH project number | 5U54AG075932-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11176286 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people across the adult age range who can provide tissue samples (for example, discarded surgical tissue or biopsy material) or donate blood for matching analyses.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking an immediate treatment or clinical intervention are unlikely to benefit directly, since this is foundational tissue-mapping research rather than a therapy trial.
What this research studies
From a patient point of view, researchers will use donated human tissue samples to look for cells that show clear aging signatures at the RNA and protein level. They will map where these senescent cells sit inside tissue sections and check whether those signatures appear in blood or other biofluids. Special methods will capture large senescent cells that are often missed by standard single-cell tests, and the team will combine lab results with data-analysis work to create spatial maps of senescent cell types across ages. The goal is to produce reliable markers that other researchers and clinicians can use to detect or target these cells.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable tests to detect harmful aging cells and guide development of treatments that remove or counteract them.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal and limited human studies have shown senescent cells exist and that senolytic approaches can help in models, but comprehensive spatial maps and validated human markers remain novel.
Where this research is happening
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Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Novato, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Melov, Simon — Buck Institute for Research on Aging
- Study coordinator: Melov, Simon
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.