Advancing Research
by funding Grant Programs and Fellowships
Driving Innovation
by guiding studies such as the FAST Initiative, the SuperAgers Initiative, and the TAME Trial
Furthering the Field
by supporting the infrastructure of three NIA Initiatives and leading the Amplifying Geroscience Initiative.
Top Breakthroughs driven by AFAR Experts
Delaying Disease by Targeting Aging
Saving Costs by Extending Healthspan
What are the Hallmarks of Aging?
How and Why Do We Age?
What is Geroscience?
What is the Longevity Dividend?
What's Next in aging research?
Aging-associated morbidity and mortality often follow devastating conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases, heart attack and stroke. That’s because humans lack an efficient regenerative mechanism to replenish lost neurons and heart muscle cells. Even for tissues that possess resident stem cells, their regenerative potential declines during postnatal growth, which is a key contributor to organ and individual aging. Therefore, enhancing the regenerative potential of organs may extend life spans by maintaining organ functions and reducing the mortality rate after tissue degenerative and failure events.
Dr. Huang and his team will use the heart as a model system to identify physiological regulators of organ regenerative potential, with a focus on the function of neurohormonal signaling in heart regeneration. They will explore novel mammalian species for significant yet unreported regenerative capacity and investigate whether different neurohormonal activity in different species is responsible for the divergent regenerative potential. Their work could provide significant insights into the fundamental principle of organ regeneration. It may have profound impacts on understanding aging-related diseases and designing new therapeutic strategies to promote longevity.
