# BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS · 2023 · —

## Abstract

Aging is the greatest risk factor for many chronic diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes,
and heart disease. Currently, roughly half of the VA population is aged 65+ years, and in the next ten years,
more than 3 million of these veterans are expected to be over 75. Thus, studying genes that regulate aging
and aging-associated pathologies is critically important for biomedical advancements to benefit veterans’
health. This research program investigates two such genes, SIRT6 and SIRT7, which are “master
regulators” of many changes in aging tissues, such as DNA damage, metabolic and oxidative stress,
cellular senescence, and inflammation. Our projects study how decreased activity of these genes may
contribute to pathologies in cardiovascular and liver disease, diabetes, obesity, and many cancers, and how
activating these genes could protect against these pathologies. By identifying pathways that can be targeted
for therapy, this research can directly impact the health of the Veteran population.
.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10594020
- **Project number:** 5IK6BX006035-02
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS
- **Principal Investigator:** Katrin F. Chua
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10594020

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10594020, BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application (5IK6BX006035-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10594020. Licensed CC0.

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