# Effects of an extreme natural disaster on immunity and aging

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $42,762

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Extreme adverse environmental events, such as major hurricanes, are associated with increased incidence and
severity of a myriad of health problems. Intriguingly, many of these ailments are also more prevalent in older
individuals–hinting that adversity and aging affect the immune system in similar ways. Together, this suggests
that adverse experiences may accelerate immune system aging. Disruptions to immune gene regulation can
persist for many years and are expected to be a particularly salient mechanism by which extreme natural
disasters drive aging-associated health declines. Additionally, individuals exhibit extensive heterogeneity in their
responses to adversity, and factors such as social adversity (i.e., socioeconomic status, social integration),
chronological age, and sex have been linked to differential health outcomes following disaster. However, most
studies to date have focused on opportunistically collected samples without baseline data, and none have
investigated whether gene expression and DNA methylation are accelerated by extreme hurricanes and how
social experiences, chronological age, and sex affect multiple domains of immune gene regulation and aging.
 The goal of the proposed research is to address these gaps by taking advantage of an unparalleled
sample of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) from the island of Cayo Santiago that recently experienced
Hurricane Maria. Macaques are a well-established animal model for translational human aging research because
they share many genetic, social, and immunological features with humans. Peripheral whole blood samples for
RNA were collected annually from representative samples of juvenile and adult male and female macaques for
three years immediately prior to (2014-2016) and one year after (2018) Hurricane Maria. Blood samples for DNA
were collected from 2010-2016 and in 2018. I will use this unique opportunity to investigate the effects of
Hurricane Maria and its aftermath on gene regulation and biological aging of the peripheral immune system by
quantifying changes to and aging of peripheral gene expression and DNA methylation. This aim will extend
studies of adversity and immune gene regulation to extreme natural disaster and quantify immune system aging
at multiple levels. Second, I will measure the effects of social adversity, chronological age, and sex on peripheral
gene expression and DNA methylation and pace of aging. This aim will provide insight into how these factors
influence the heterogeneity in immune responses and modulate immune aging following a major hurricane.
 Together, these studies will provide insight into how extreme natural disasters impact immune gene
regulation and how several pertinent social and demographic factors shape these responses. The proposed
work will add to the growing body of research on natural disaster and immune gene regulatory disruptions and
introduce the integration of socio-demographic data to evaluate heterogeneity in multi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10385536
- **Project number:** 1F31AG072787-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Marina Watowich
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $42,762
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10385536

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10385536, Effects of an extreme natural disaster on immunity and aging (1F31AG072787-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10385536. Licensed CC0.

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