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Psychosocial Context and the Biological Clock: Changes in Weathering during Middle-Age

Award Number: R01AG055393
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/01/2017
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2023

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Psychosocial Context and the Biological Clock: Changes in Weathering during Middle-Age - PROJECT SUMMARY Unprecedented growth in the proportion of older adults in the U.S. has placed inequalities in healthy aging at the forefront of the public health agenda. Individuals often differ dramatically in their speed of aging. Some demonstrate accelerated aging and suffer early onset of chronic illness whereas others manifest decelerated aging and stave off serious illness well into their 90s. In recent years, researchers have made much headway in understanding the molecular markers of healthy aging, thereby allowing for earlier identification of risk for chronic disease. The proposed research focuses on two such biomarkers of healthy aging – inflammatory aging and methylomic aging. These measures provide us with “biological clocks” that are strongly predictive of age-related physiological decline, disease, and mortality. Having established these molecular measures of the speed of aging, the important question for social scientists and health policy now becomes: To what extent is the speed of aging malleable, for better or worse, in response to natural shifts in psychosocial contexts? This question is the focus of the present proposal. We plan to investigate the extent to which adult social conditions from various domains, but especially those operating within the family, influence speed of biological aging after taking into account childhood experiences and potentially confounding life style factors such as diet, exercise, and smoking. Our objective is to identify the stressors that accelerate aging as well as the supports that decelerate aging. These goals will be pursued using longitudinal data from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), a 20-year study of well-being among African American mothers, their romantic partners (RPs), and their offspring. A focus on aging among African Americans is important as they tend to suffer from earlier onset and higher prevalence of age-related diseases and a wider range of psychosocial stressors than other ethnic groups. First, we will obtain longitudinal indices of the speed of inflammatory and methylomic aging from the now middle-aged mothers and, if partnered, their RPs by collecting and assaying a new wave of blood data, as well as assaying stored blood from a previous wave. The proposed data will provide the first comprehensive assessment of change in the speed or rate of biological aging during adulthood. Second, we will collect an additional wave of interview data so that changes in supports and stressors can be mapped onto changes in the rate of biological aging.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = -$10,581 )
2023	2021	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	000	5	9/8/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$10,581
														Subtotal = -$10,581

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $523,036 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	001	5	4/13/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$595,613
2021	2020	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	000	4	1/22/2021	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	-$72,577
														Subtotal = $523,036

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $1,047,068 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	001	4	9/11/2020	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$445,327
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	000	4	4/28/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$601,741
														Subtotal = $1,047,068

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $594,078 )
2019	2019	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	000	3	4/5/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$594,078
														Subtotal = $594,078

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $620,939 )
2018	2018	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	000	2	4/13/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$620,939
														Subtotal = $620,939

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $647,835 )
2017	2017	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Aging Research	000	1	3/21/2017	NEW	$647,835
														Subtotal = $647,835

Grand Total All Awards = $3,422,375

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Psychosocial Context and the Biological Clock: Changes in Weathering during Middle-Age

Award Number: R01AG055393

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/01/2017

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2023

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