# Quantitating, Targeting, and Phenotyping In Vivo Cellular Senescence in Humans

> **NIH NIH K99** · BUCK INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON AGING · 2020 · $131,652

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Senescent cells, and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), are now widely accepted as
drivers of aging and multiple age-related diseases. Pre-clinical mouse studies have demonstrated that targeted
removal of senescent cells has beneficial effects on cardiac, vascular, metabolic, neurological, renal, pulmonary,
and musculoskeletal functions in mice, including improvements in mobility, frailty and longevity. Therefore, the
selective elimination of senescent cells or inhibition of the SASP are promising therapeutic approaches to treat
age-related diseases in humans. Development of these therapies requires molecular markers to identify,
quantify, and examine senescent cells from human tissues. The overall objective of this proposal is to apply
unbiased, quantitative, and robust spectrometry approaches to develop secreted and cell surface biomarkers for
targeting, isolating, and quantifying senescent cells in humans, and to perform the first phenotyping on intact
senescent cells isolated from human tissues. In AIM 1, a SASP database will be created and secreted biomarker
candidates of senescence burden in humans will be identified by applying modern quantitative proteomic
technologies. In AIM 2, senescence-specific cell surface markers will be identified and used to isolate,
phenotype, and treat endogenous senescent cells from human tissues. The proposed work, and the resources
and methods developed as a result, will have a positive impact on the translation of senescence-targeted
therapies into humans by identifying potential senescence biomarkers in humans, creating translationally
relevant and personalized approaches to study senescent cells, and providing fundamental insights into the
biology of senescent cells in humans in vivo. The work proposed in this career development award will be carried
out by Dr. Natan Basisty, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at The Buck Institute for Research on Aging, a highly
regarded academic research institution that focuses on the biology of aging. Dr. Basisty will be performing career
development activities such as attending conferences and workshops, presenting his research, publishing
papers, and searching for faculty positions while he carries out the proposed work at The Buck Institute for the
first two years of this award under the mentorship of Professors Birgit Schilling, Judith Campisi, and Luigi
Ferrucci. Dr. Basisty will leverage this award toward obtaining a position as an independent investigator doing
research on the biology of aging at an academic research institution by the end of the second year, after which
he will independently continue the work proposed in AIM 2 and apply for his own additional research grants by
the fourth year of this award.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9976803
- **Project number:** 1K99AG065484-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BUCK INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON AGING
- **Principal Investigator:** Natan Bohdonivich Basisty
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $131,652
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9976803

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9976803, Quantitating, Targeting, and Phenotyping In Vivo Cellular Senescence in Humans (1K99AG065484-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9976803. Licensed CC0.

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