Research at the Aging Center

The Nathan Shock Center has extensively characterized 32 commonly used inbred strains for aging-related phenotypes, greatly increasing the genetic diversity of the mouse models available for aging research. Center investigators have analyzed these data using complex trait methods pioneered at The Jackson Laboratory, including predictive quantitative trait loci (QTL) and haplotype association mapping (HAM) to support their independent, grant-funded research. This work has:

1. accelerated genetic analyses of aging processes and disease
2. uncovered lifespan loci
3. revealed tantalizing correlations between lifespan and susceptibility for age-related disorders, such as osteoporosis and cancer
4. provided evidence for concordance of genomic loci influencing lifespan and aging phenotypes between mouse and humans, suggesting promising leads for translational research.