American Federation for Aging Research

12/23/2025

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12/22/2025

View from AFAR: Turning the Clock - Biological Clocks & Biomarkers

As we enter a new year, many of us think about time. In aging research, scientists look beyond the calendar to biological clocks – molecular markers that reveal how quickly our bodies are aging.

An MIT Technology Review story highlighted how new tools, including advanced AI models, are helping researchers uncover these signals and advance longevity science. (https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/01/17/1110086/openai-has-created-an-ai-model-for-longevity-science/)

The field is working to advance biomarkers, measurable indicators of biological age. A major barrier to advancing gerotherapeutics is the lack of validated biomarkers of aging.

Steven Austad, PhD, AFAR Scientific Director, explains:
“Chronological age tells us our years. Biological age tells us our health. The right biomarkers can show whether an intervention is truly turning the body’s internal clock.”

For more insights on measuring biological age, read our Ask the Expert Interview with AFAR Cristofalo Rising Star in Aging Research Award recipient Morgan Levine, PhD.
https://www.afar.org/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-morgan-levine-phd-on-using-computer-science-in-aging-research-epigenetic-clocks-and-biomarkers

12/19/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Tuoqi Wu, PhD, of UT Southwestern Medical Center, who will research "Understand FOXP1 as a gatekeeper of T cell aging."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/tuoqi-wu-1

12/19/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Deborah Winter, PhD, of Northwestern University, who will research "Understanding the role of noisy chromatin deregulation in aging macrophages."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/deborah-winter-1

12/18/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Peter van Galen, PhD, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, who will research "Hematopoietic Stem Cell Diversity Driving Age-Associated Inflammation."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/peter-van-galen-1

12/18/2025

Yahoo News recently featured insights from AFAR Scholar-in-Residence Raiany Romanni-Klein, PhD on ovarian aging.
Read here:

“The goal is to try to delay menopause, so you can recover more years of overall health and protection from chronic diseases."

12/18/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Noah Snyder-Mackler, PhD, of Arizona State University, who will research "Molecular causes and consequences of inter- and intra-individual heterogeneity in aging."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/noah-snyder-mackler

12/17/2025

AFAR congratulates the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) for receiving a 3-year grant award from the NIA/NIH to establish the Geroscience Education and Training 2 (GET2) Network, built with guidance from several AFAR grantees and experts.
Learn more:

AFAR congratulates the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) for receiving a three-year grant award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the

12/17/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Jason Sheltzer, PhD, of Stanford University, who will research "Investigating loss of the Y chromosome as a targetable driver of aging-related pathologies."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/jason-sheltzer

12/17/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Mattia Quattrocelli, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati, who will research "The Carnosine Clock Ticks for Healthy Aging."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/mattia-quattrocelli

12/16/2025

This year brought real challenges for the scientific community. With fewer NIH grants available, many promising investigators are facing an increasingly competitive funding landscape. Yet even amid these hurdles, excitement and momentum in aging biology continue to grow. In 2025, AFAR received more applications than ever before and awarded $12,816,000 to 79 investigators exploring a range of topics at research institutions nationwide. Your year-end gift to AFAR will help support even more scientists who are committed to healthy aging: https://www.afar.org/donate

12/16/2025

AFAR is pleased to announce Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research recipient, Hadi Nia, PhD, of Boston University, who will research "Inflammaging in the Lung: Dissecting the Impact of Aging on pulmonary vs. circulatory factors."
Learn more here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-profiles/hadi-nia