Aging

Understanding Aging to Transform Health

Aging is the greatest single risk factor for nearly every major adult disease, including cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. As populations worldwide grow older, the challenge is not only to extend lifespan, but to improve health span—the years of life lived in good health.

At Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, aging is a central focus across our research enterprise. Scientists investigate the fundamental biological processes that drive aging, how and why our cells and tissues change over time and how these changes increase vulnerability to disease.

To translate these discoveries into impact, we combine basic biology with computational approaches, advanced technologies and drug development expertise, enabling new approaches to prevent and treat age-related diseases.

Our researchers study aging not only in model systems, but also in humans. Collaborations, such as the Cilento Initiative on Aging Outcomes, examine long-lived populations to uncover the biological, environmental and social factors that promote healthy aging.

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Aging Across Centers

Cancer Center
Aging is the greatest single risk factor for most common adult cancers. We study how age-related changes, such as DNA damage, cellular senescence and altered immune function, epigenetics and metabolism drive tumor initiation and progression, with the goal of developing targeted therapies for older populations.

Center for Cardiovascular and Muscular Diseases
Aging affects the heart, blood vessels and skeletal muscle, leading to conditions such as heart failure and sarcopenia. Research focuses on regeneration, stem cell function and tissue resilience to preserve mobility and cardiovascular health.

Center for Neurologic Diseases
Aging is the primary risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. We investigate how different forms of aging (premature aging, accelerated aging such as Down syndrome, and natural aging) impact neuronal, glia, and brain function, as well as cognition to identify therapeutic avenues such as epigenetic means of rejuvenation.

Center for Metabolic and Liver Diseases
Metabolic dysfunction increases with age, contributing to obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and systemic inflammation. Researchers explore how aging reshapes metabolism and identify pathways to restore metabolic balance.

Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
Aging is a complex process that spans molecules, cells, tissues and populations. Correspondingly, a huge amount and variety of data are collected over years and integrated to study aging. We harness data science and artificial intelligence to identify new biomarkers of aging and age-associated diseases, predict disease risk and reveal novel targets for intervention.

Center for Therapeutics Discovery
Using advanced technologies, from robotically enabled high-throughput screening to in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, as well as medicinal and computational chemistry, we translate discoveries in aging biology into new therapeutic strategies.

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Symposia

La Jolla Aging Meeting
An annual gathering of Southern California-based postdoctoral researchers and students working in the fields of aging biology, who present short talks on their research. Organized by Sanford Burnham Prebys and Salk Institute. Hosted at Salk.

CIAO Study
An annual gathering of scientists and collaborators in the Cilento Initiative on Aging Outcomes (CIAO) study, an international, longitudinal investigation of centenarians living in the Cilento region of Italy. Meetings in Italy and the U.S. cover new data and findings. The CIAO study is sponsored by Sanford Burnham Prebys, UC San Diego, Sapienza Universita di Roma and Great Health Science.

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Latest News

Aging Research