The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has renewed a five-year, $5.75 million grant for the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The Birmingham center is one of only eight nationwide focused on advancing research in the biology of aging.

The center is co-directed by Steven Austad, Ph.D., professor of biology, and Tom Buford, Ph.D., professor of medicine in UAB’s Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care.

Both say the renewal strengthens the United States’ role in reshaping how society views later life.

“Aging underlies almost all serious threats to human health –– heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease included,” Buford said.

“Our goal is to develop interventions to prolong human health by targeting the biology of aging as opposed to specific diseases’ processes.”

The Nathan Shock Center provides specialized resources for aging research and awards pilot grants to help researchers launch new projects. The co-directors describe aging research as the ultimate form of preventive medicine.

“Targeting the biology of aging as opposed to diseases is a unique approach,” Austad said. “Because the biggest risk factor for most chronic diseases is aging, targeting the biology of aging has the promise of preventing or delaying a wide range of diseases as a group.”

The National Institute on Aging first awarded UAB the grant in 2015, when the Birmingham institution was one of only six centers nationwide. Since then, UAB’s advances in aging research have contributed to the grant’s renewal.