Friday, December 8, 2023

NIH awards $2.4 million to UTSA researchers to study aging and health disparities

NIH awards $2.4 million to UTSA researchers to study aging and health disparities

NOVEMBER 14, 2022 — A team of researchers led by faculty from the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts has been selected to receive a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new model that could be used to study biological aging. It is the largest grant COLFA researchers have ever received.

Fernando A. Campos, assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Anthropology, is leading the collaborative research project to understand why some individuals retain good health into old age while others experience declines in their health, physical function and wellbeing.

He and his colleagues believe the answer might lie with wild capuchin monkeys.


“I want to produce a better understanding of health disparities related to aging, and what kinds of interventions are possible to improve health.”



“It kind of remains a mystery as to why there’s so much variation in the progression of human aging,” Campos said. “We can gain a lot of insights to the aging processes by studying primates who share a lot of similarity with humans in terms of how their bodies work and things that influence their health such as social and physical environments.”

Campos and his team of researchers are monitoring several groups of capuchin monkeys in a study site called Santa Rosa within the Área de Conservación Guanacaste in Costa Rica.

Like humans, capuchins have complex social relationships, large brains and can live long lives: up to 30 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity. To find answers to his questions, Campos’ research will include a combination of field-based behavioral observation and laboratory analyses of noninvasive biological samples such as urine and feces. 

“If we can figure out the biological mechanism that causes those differences in aging to happen—the link between the adverse life experience and accelerated aging—that’s the sort of question I really want to provide an answer to,” Campos said. “I want to produce a better understanding of health disparities related to aging, and what kinds of interventions are possible to improve health.”

In phase one of the study, the researchers will identify and validate biomarkers of aging from non-invasive biological samples. In phase two, they will track those aging and health biomarkers by monitoring the capuchins long-term.

“Aging is something that everybody will have to face, if they’re lucky enough to survive to old age, and with it comes massive challenges for human societies and economies around the world,” Campos said. “My research is motivated by the desire to improve the health and wellbeing of older people and this grant will help us keep the project going years into the future.” 


EXPLORE FURTHER
Read more about UTSA’s Department of Anthropology
Learn more about Fernando Campos, Eva Wikberg and Yeonjoo Park.

Joining Campos are Eva Wikberg, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, and Yeonjoo Park, an assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Management Science and Statistics. Wikberg is identifying the genetic relationships within the group of capuchin monkeys, and Park is assisting with statistical analysis and research design.

Multidisciplinary researchers from the University of Calgary, Tulane University, New York University, University of Montreal and the University of California Santa Barbara are also members of the project team. 

Michelle Gaitan



UTSA Today is produced by University Strategic Communications,
the official news source
of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu.


UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.


Events


Spotlight

Spotlight

dtc-utsa-sign_680.png
University of Texas at San Antonio receives ‘transformational’ $40M gift

UTSA’s Mission

The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

UTSA’s Vision

To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA’s Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.

UTSA’S Destinations

UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

Our Commitment to Inclusivity

The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.