# CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR GEROSCIENCE CoBRE

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · 2022 · $250,000

## Abstract

Sonntag, William E., PhD
P20GM125528
ABSTRACT
 There have been impressive advances in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging,
including the discovery of manipulations that delay aging and increase healthspan. Importantly, these
interventions also reduce or prevent age-related diseases. These outcomes raise the possibility that multiple
human diseases arise from a common cause – aging. The premise of this CoBRE Phase 1 is that the
mechanisms of aging and the mechanisms of age-related diseases share common cellular and molecular
processes that underlie healthspan and lifespan. An important corollary to this concept is that pre-clinical and
clinical research on age-related diseases must incorporate an understanding of the cellular/molecular changes
that occur with age in order to adequately develop treatments for age-related diseases. Here, we propose a
multidisciplinary, inter-departmental, and inter-institutional CoBRE program focused on Cellular and
Molecular Geroscience. Geroscience is a relatively new, interdisciplinary scientific field that addresses the
cellular and molecular events that dramatically increase the risk for disease with age, create a ‘permissive
milieu’ and, as a result, disease increases exponentially. Our program has exceptional institutional support.
The program is highly innovative in that it combines mentoring of promising junior investigators (PJIs) by
outstanding scientific experts who are currently studying mechanisms of aging and by faculty investigating age-
related disease in a manner that will increase both the quantity and quality of on-going disease-related research
in the context of the aging organism. These goals will be accomplished through the mentoring of PJIs, who
have faculty appointments at OUHSC; recruiting senior investigators to the OUHSC campus; and developing
the necessary infrastructure for support of the research program. The specific aims for the program are: 1.
Develop and expand institutional biomedical research in Geroscience through the mentoring of PJIs by highly
experienced, dedicated senior investigators. 2. Enhance the infrastructure critical for expanding Geroscience
research in Oklahoma. 3. Foster collegial and collaborative relationships between CoBRE investigators and
other scientists. 4. Establish milestones and expectations that ensure the success of the program and its
participants. This supplement is designed to advance our research into single cell transciptomics using
Chromium and Chromium Connect technology.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10598397
- **Project number:** 3P20GM125528-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** William Edmund Sonntag
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $250,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-02-02 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10598397

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10598397, CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR GEROSCIENCE CoBRE (3P20GM125528-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10598397. Licensed CC0.

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