The University of Southern California has received a $7.5 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the USC Geroscience Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences in Aging (GeroSCORE).
Bringing together experts in aging, biology, neuroscience, psychology, epidemiology, demography, sociology, and data science, the new center aims to understand how biological sex interacts with genetics, hormones, behavior, and social and physical environment to shape aging across the lifespan. In addition to facilitating innovative research, GeroSCORE will develop new tools, analytical methods, and scientific resources that can be shared broadly with gerontology scholars. The center will also support pilot projects, train early-career investigators, convene national and international experts, and collaborate with other NIH Centers of Excellence.
“We know that women and men age differently; the challenge is understanding why,” said co-director Jennifer Ailshire, UPS Foundation Chair in Aging and Justice at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “By bringing together expertise that has traditionally been separated, GeroSCORE will help uncover how biology, environment and life experiences combine to shape aging.”