# Researching Institutional and Psychosocial Sources of Resiliency to Accelerated Biological Aging

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2021 · $82,796

## Abstract

A. SUMMARY OF PARENT GRANT
The central aim of the Researching Epigenetics, Weathering, Aging, and Residential Disadvantage (REWARD)
study (R01AG061080) is to investigate how cumulative and contextual disadvantage act to accelerate biological
aging processes. Persistent exposure to these disadvantages is known to produce health disparities through
biological mechanisms in a process known as weathering. The health effects of weathering have been well-
documented [1,2]. However, previously proposed mechanisms of weathering, such as allostatic load, shortened
telomere length, and altered stress and immune responses have proven limited in explaining persistent health
disparities [3]. Recent discoveries in human epigenetics suggest that differential rates of biological aging may
play an important role in explaining these disparities [4,5]. R01AG061080 advances our understanding of
weathering by probing the mechanisms through which individual and spatial disadvantage “get under the skin”
to throttle biological aging processes. Termed “epigenetic clocks,” several specific DNA methylation patterns
have been identified as metrics of biological aging [6-8]. The REWARD study collected DNA methylation data
from 1400 participants in the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW). The resulting dataset combines rich
biomarker and demographic data and the residential addresses of participants with cutting-edge biological aging
metrics, allowing for our group to investigate social and contextual causes of disparities in biological aging.
Critically for the purposes of the proposed supplement, this address data can also be used to expand the range of
the contextual characteristics considered. A growing body of interdisciplinary evidence identifies key
associations between local institutional contexts, such as public schools, libraries, and safety services, and
health outcomes. No research of which we are aware has investigated associations between institutional
contexts and biological aging. Understanding whether and how local public and social institutions shape racial,
socioeconomic, and disparities in biological aging may provide new insights for structural intervention aimed at
ameliorating these disparities. We will address this by expanding the reach of the REWARD study of biological
aging disparities to include local institutions. We will additionally assess the role of psychosocial sources of
resiliency in the weathering process. To accomplish these aims, we will link publicly available institutional
data, including quinquennial municipal and business records, with the REWARD dataset using the geocoded
street addresses of study participants. Next, we will apply the analytic strategy outlined below to estimate the
associations between local institutions, psychosocial factors – such as sense of community and community
participation, and biological aging. Dr. Clark will have access to all data resources available within the
REWARD and SHOW studies, as well as c...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10435741
- **Project number:** 3R01AG061080-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Michal Engelman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $82,796
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10435741

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10435741, Researching Institutional and Psychosocial Sources of Resiliency to Accelerated Biological Aging (3R01AG061080-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10435741. Licensed CC0.

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