American Federation for Aging Research

04/03/2026

CBS 60 Minutes recently highlighted The Dog Aging Project, co-founded by multiple grantee and Cristofalo Award winner Matt Kaeberlein, PhD, and grantee Daniel Promislow, DPhil.
Watch the segment here:

The Dog Aging Project is working to help dogs live longer, healthier lives. The research results may help humans age well, too.

04/03/2026

Reflecting on his 2025 AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty, Madison Doolittle, PhD, of UConn Health, shares: "Our work will study skeleton accumulate damage to understand how to identify and therapeutically target these residual, post-fracture damaged cells to improve skeletal health. Success of this project will establish injury as a driver of accelerated aging, which may extend to other organs.”
Learn more about his AFAR-supported research in our Grantee Spotlight Interview here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-spotlight-interviews/madison-doolittle-phd-1

04/02/2026

AFAR Grantee in the News: JAMA Cardiology published new research co-authored by Grantee Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, on the link between inflammation-causing age-related changes in blood cells and the increased risk of pericarditis.
Read here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/fullarticle/2846692

04/02/2026

Reflecting on her 2025 AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty, Ang Cui, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, shares: "Aging profoundly distorts the immune network... I want to use our precision genomics approach to better understand immune system changes over time and use that knowledge to design strategies that restore healthy immune function in older adults.”
Learn more about her AFAR-supported research in our Grantee Spotlight Interview here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-spotlight-interviews/ang-cui-phd

04/01/2026

Reflecting on his 2025 AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty, Jacob Brown, PhD, of Florida State University, shares: "The number of people over the age of 65 years in the US is increasing. Our laboratory is interested in studying how to maintain muscle as we age, which is important for maintaining independence and a healthy metabolism.”
Learn more about his AFAR-supported research in our Grantee Spotlight Interview here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-spotlight-interviews/jacob-brown-phd

03/31/2026

AFAR Experts in the News: The Washington Post recently published an article exploring exceptional animal longevity, with insights from Scientific Director Steven N. Austad, PhD, and Grantee and Upstate Nathan Shock Center Director Vera Gorbunova, PhD.
Read here:

Inside the growing scientific quest to understand what creatures with the extraordinary ability to defy the ravages of time can teach us about making human aging better.

03/30/2026

AFAR Grantees in the News: New research co-authored by Andrea Francesca Salvador, PhD, and Christoph Thaiss, PhD, on the possible gut–brain connection driving age-related memory loss, published in Nature.
Read more in a related Arc Institute article here:

In our new work published in Nature, we discovered that the aging gastrointestinal tract produces specific molecules that blunt the activity of a key gut-brain neuronal pathway, leading to age-related cognitive decline in mice.

03/27/2026

View from AFAR: Biohacking & Healthy Aging - Fact or Fiction?

Biohacking is seemingly moving from a niche experimentation to mainstream adaptation. But as public interest grows alongside biotech innovations, a question remains: Can biohacking meaningfully extend healthspan... and what does the science show?

In AFAR’s recent webinar, “Unpacking Biohacking for Longevity,” experts from the academic and private sectors discussed evidence-based approaches and addressed what’s known—and not known in a rapidly advancing field.

“There are conflicting views about what works and what doesn't. Some early adopters and researchers are trying gene therapies today, and others are backing relatively simple and understandable lifestyle changes. That's how controversial the field and idea of biohacking can be,” posed Sergey Young, curator and moderator of AFAR’s Biotech and Beyond series. “Still, many discoveries in aging biology take decades to reach patients. How can we speed up the path from labs to real therapies? Does the biohacking movement help accelerate this process, or does it do the opposite?”

The bottom line is that biohacking for longevity is neither pure fact nor pure fiction just yet. And opportunity lies in harnessing AI and technology responsibly, guided by rigorous research.

On a daily basis, Young noted, “biohacking approaches like monitoring devices for sleep may help engage a new generation and get them excited about the promise of healthy aging. Data from wearables and sensors can provide a practical starting point for those beginning their longevity journey.”

For more insights, watch the webinar recording here: https://youtu.be/0jr5f9HGdJE?si=aqYxOQaIjZEzEAs5

Explore AFAR’s Biotech and Beyond webinar series here:
https://www.afar.org/afar-webinars

03/26/2026

AFAR is pleased to announce that the FAST (Finding Aging biomarkers by Searching existing Trials) initiative, incubated and launched by AFAR, will advance as part of the recently launched federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health’s (ARPA-H) PROactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience (PROSPR) program.

AFAR-affiliated geroscientists have been crucial in building FAST. This first phase of FAST was led by AFAR Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research recipient Daniel W. Belsky, PhD (Columbia University), and AFAR board member and multiple grantee Nir Barzilai, MD (Albert Einstein College of Medicine). AFAR grantee and Cristofalo Award recipient Jamie Justice, PhD (XPRIZE Foundation; Wake Forest University School of Medicine), co-launched the initiative alongside Dr. Barzilai, before Dr. Belsky assumed the leadership role.

Now, through ARPA-H’s PROSPR program, FAST will advance with Dr. Belsky as the core Principal Investigator, who will build on the scientific and operational foundation established during the phase of FAST that AFAR led for four years.

Learn more about the foundation of FAST and the potential impact aging biomarkers will make here: https://www.afar.org/news/afar-in-the-news-fast-biomarkers-initiative-advances-as-part-of-federal-arpa-hs-prospr-program

03/25/2026

Recording now available from AFAR’s recent exploring the science, promise, and limits of biohacking for longevity. Daniel W. Belsky, PhD, of Columbia Public Health & developer of the DunedinPACE biological aging test; Mark Kotter, PhD, Founder of bit.bio and clock.bio; Helen Messier, PhD, MD, IFMCP, Chief Medical Officer of Bioscope.ai; and AFAR President Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, of Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA. Moderated by AFAR board member and Sergey Young of the BOLD Longevity Growth Fund.
Watch the recording now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jr5f9HGdJE

03/25/2026

AFAR is pleased to announce the election of Shelley Diamond to its Board of Directors. Ms. Diamond brings a unique set of expertise and experience that will help further facilitate and expand AFAR’s continued mission. Please join AFAR in welcoming her to this position, and learn more about her leadership experience here: https://www.afar.org/news/bassdiamondboard

03/25/2026

AFAR is pleased to announce the election of Michael Bass to its Board of Directors. Mr. Bass brings a unique set of expertise and experience that will help further facilitate and expand AFAR’s continued mission. Please join AFAR in welcoming him to this position, and learn more about his leadership experience here: https://www.afar.org/news/bassdiamondboard