Understanding how aging affects the blood-brain barrier and protein transport
Official title: Validation and Kinetic Characterization of Blood-Cerebrospinal Fluid Barrier-Traversing Proteins in Aging With Library-Free Multiplexed Targeted Proteomics
Funded at Harvard Medical School · NIH-10948161 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how a part of the brain that helps protect it changes as we get older, with the hope of finding new ways to treat age-related diseases by better understanding how proteins move from our blood to the brain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Medical School NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 3, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $125,172 |
| NIH project number | 1K99AG088297-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-10948161 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are older adults experiencing age-related cognitive decline or neurological conditions.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with acute neurological injuries or those not experiencing age-related changes may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates the choroid plexus, a key part of the blood-brain barrier, and how its function changes as we age. By using advanced proteomic techniques, the study aims to identify how proteins are transported from the blood to the cerebrospinal fluid, which could lead to new treatments for age-related diseases. The research focuses on developing methods to detect and quantify proteins in challenging biological samples, enhancing our understanding of the aging process. Patients may benefit from insights that could lead to innovative therapies targeting the blood-brain barrier.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to new therapeutic strategies for age-related neurological disorders by improving drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown promise in understanding the blood-brain barrier's role in aging, but this specific proteomic approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard Medical School
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shuken, Steven Robert — Harvard Medical School
- Study coordinator: Shuken, Steven Robert
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Aging Well with HIV: Alcohol, Risk Reduction, and Education Center (AWAR3E)
A center at Yale is exploring how aging with HIV interacts with alcohol use to create inflammation and frailty, with the goal of finding biomarkers and potential treatments.
-
Cognitive SuperAging: Exploring why some octogenarians stay sharp in memory
This NIH grant studies why a small group of people aged 80+ keep memory skills as good as much younger people, hoping to understand how to protect memory as we age.
-
Biological aging across the lifespan through a national high school-to-adult study
This grant uses a long-running national study of students and adults to collect saliva biomarkers of aging, alongside surveys, to understand how aging markers relate to health and life experiences.
-
Understanding how aging and Alzheimer’s affect how people make tough choices
This NIH grant studies how aging and Alzheimer’s risk change how people decide between immediate and delayed rewards and risky options, with the goal of helping older adults stay financially and healthwise safer.
-
Understanding how brain resilience and multiple brain pathologies influence aging and Alzheimer's disease
A long-term study follows older adults to learn how resilience to brain changes helps reduce dementia risk and what biological factors are linked to better cognitive aging.
-
National Neighborhood Data Archive helps researchers study aging health in U.S. neighborhoods
A nationwide data resource will help researchers understand how where people live affects health and aging, with a focus on respiratory illnesses in older adults.
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.