On July 6, 2020, Aging and Disease published an article co-authored by several AFAR experts on why a geroscience approach is necessary to target COVID-19. The research highlights the many ways innovations in aging research can be applied to diminish the impact of COVID-19 and its disproportionate effect on older adults.
The authors emphasize that immune dysfunction and inflammaging are two of the hallmarks of aging. Targeting these aging processes with geroprotectors such as metformin may prevent future viruses like COVID-19 from affecting the vulnerable older adults. (The AFAR-managed Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) Trial will organize clinical trials to provide proof of concept that the biology of aging can be targeted.)
The article also calls for better public health policy and more sufficient support for aging research in order to fulfill these goals.
Contributing authors include:
Steven N. Austad, PhD: AFAR Senior Scientific Director; distinguished professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Co-Principal Investigator of the Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging Coordinating Center.
Nir Barzilai, MD: AFAR Scientific Director; 1994 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Facultyrecipient; 1997 Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging scholar; 2010 Irving S. Wright Award winner; Director at the Institute for Aging Research and distinguished Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD: 2000 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Facultyrecipient; 2008 Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research recipient; Co-Director of the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Matt Kaeberlein, PhD: 2006 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty; 2007 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award recipient; Co-Director at the University of Washington Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging; Director of the Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute; President of the American Aging Association; Co-Director of the Dog Aging Project; Professor at the University of Washington.
Stephanie Lederman, EdM: AFAR Executive Director
Felipe Sierra, PhD: 1993 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Facultyrecipient; Former Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Division of Aging Biology.
Read the article, “Geroscience in the Age of COVID-19,” here.
