# Comparative Bioenergetics of Aging

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2021 · $21,221

## Abstract

Project Number: 1P30AG050886
Contact PI / Project Leader: Steven N. Austad, PhD
Title: Comparative Energetics and Aging
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) proposes to establish a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in
the Basic Biology of Aging focused on comparative energetics and aging. Energetics is comprehensively defined
for this purpose as the study of the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of the acquisition, storage, and
utilization of metabolizable energy. Comparative energetics is the study of metabolic processes at multiple scales
and across multiple species, in this case as it relates to health and aging. Nearly a century of aging research
has reinforced the link between energetics and aging. In modern terms this link is reified as dysregulated
mitochondrial function, metabolic signaling, and nutrient responsiveness. The twin objectives of the Center will
be to (1) explore in greater depth and detail than previously the complex relationship among cellular and
organismal energetics and their relationship to health and aging, and (2) provide quantitative, state-of-the-art
technologies and novel methodologies in the assessment and analysis of energetics to the basic aging research
community at large. In pursuit of these objectives, we propose developing three research cores. First, the
Comparative Organismal Energetics Core will provide expertise and cutting edge instruction and methodology
for determining complete whole animal energy balance (intake, assimilation, expenditure) and body composition,
including regional distribution of white and brown adipose tissue, in living animals of various species including
flies, fish, mice or other mammals, under any ambient temperature or activity regime. Second, the Comparative
Mitochondrial Health Assessment Core will provide integrated, quantitative energetics analysis at the level of the
organelle, cell, or tissue for both traditional and emerging animal models, including targeted metabolomics,
assessment of mitophagy, and oxidative stress. Mitochondrial-nuclear exchange models are also available to
enable experiments that evaluate the contribution of mtDNA variation to bioenergetics. Third, the Comparative
Data Analytics Core will provide innovative analytic approaches to data sets linking comparative energetics to
organismal health and longevity. With these research cores plus the administrative and research development
core, we aim to: (i) facilitate hypothesis-driven research and leverage these technologies into new projects,
interactions, and collaborations nationwide in basic aging research; (ii) foster meaningful novel interactions
among investigators within UAB and across the region and country; and (iii) provide resources, education,
training, and direction to junior investigators through the intellectual resources and research infrastructure, the
Center will develop. In sum, these cores and the outstanding cohort of investigators assembled for this Center
will provide uniq...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10302166
- **Project number:** 3P30AG050886-06S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** STEVEN N. AUSTAD
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $21,221
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2015-07-15 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10302166

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10302166, Comparative Bioenergetics of Aging (3P30AG050886-06S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10302166. Licensed CC0.

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