How a mother's age affects her children's mitochondria and long-term health
Official title: Mitochondrial mechanisms of maternal age effects on offspring health and lifespan
Funded at Marine Biological Laboratory · NIH-11302684 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are looking at whether age-related changes in mothers' mitochondria lead to shorter, less healthy lives for their children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Marine Biological Laboratory NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Woods Hole, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $347,475 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG076592-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11302684 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People planning pregnancy at older ages or who are concerned about how parental age might affect their children's long-term health would find this research most relevant.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals seeking immediate treatments for their own current age-related illnesses are unlikely to gain direct clinical benefit from this basic research in the short term.
What this research studies
This project compares mitochondria from older versus younger mothers and measures mitochondrial DNA, size, energy production, and reactive oxygen species in offspring. The team uses animal and laboratory models to track offspring health, reproduction, behavior, and lifespan while testing whether increased mitochondrial biogenesis and reduced autophagy explain the effects. They will manipulate mitochondrial function and autophagy during development to see if those changes alter offspring aging. The goal is to link maternal mitochondrial changes to specific downstream effects in offspring.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to ways to protect future children from age-related decline by targeting mitochondrial health in mothers or early development.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal studies have shown that offspring of older mothers can have shorter lifespans and health differences, but directly linking mitochondrial mechanisms is relatively new and still being worked out.
Where this research is happening
-
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gribble, Kristin — Marine Biological Laboratory
- Study coordinator: Gribble, Kristin
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.