Using an established, well-characterised cohort of older people, this project will test associations of biological ageing mechanisms (inflammation, cellular senescence) with clinical expressions of successful and unsuccessful ageing.
Proof of Concepts Programme: Bridge Projects
Bridge projects accelerate translation of cutting edge science developed by members of the UK SPINE network. We fund a range of exciting, innovative, translationally-focused projects, that will accelerate the development of new products that improve healthspan and treat multi-morbidities.
Project lead:
Thomas Jackson and Janet Lord, University of Birmingham; Andrew Clegg, University of Leeds and Bradford Institute for Health Research
Project lead:
John Overington, Medicines Discovery Catapult
This project aims to use existing data to identify currently approved therapies that could be safely repurposed to treat or prevent diseases of ageing.
Project lead:
Karl Morten, University of Oxford
This project looks to develop label-free Raman spectroscopy for the study of mitochondrial drug accumulation, and also these drugs effects on mitochondrial function.
Project lead:
Annette von Delft, University of Oxford
This project will run an unbiased phenotypic screen of a panel of 54 potent and selective small molecule epigenetic inhibitors in T-cells assays to assess effects on exhaustion and senescence.
Project lead:
Ghada Alsaleh, University of Oxford
This project aims to develop medications which influence TFEB expression to promote effective autophagy and have a positive impact on age-related morbidities.
Project lead:
Satomi Miwa and Thomas von Zglinicki, Newcastle University
This group has identified two novel candidate senolytics with excellent safety profiles. Both candidates will be validated for efficacy in a mouse model of accelerated ageing developed in the lab of Thomas von Zglinicki. These molecules could potentially serve as second generation senolytics safe for clinical use.
Project lead:
Lynne Cox, University of Oxford
This work will identify novel means to promote DNA repair in cells by restoring cellular ageing status to ‘young’ levels of function of a gene for which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) consistently link with longevity in genome-wide association studies.
Project lead:
Katja Simon and Felix Richter, University of Oxford
This project aims to elucidate the origin of age-related changes in lipid metabolism. Specifically, the contribution of autophagy in adipose tissue aging will be interrogated.
Project lead:
Philip Atherton, University of Nottingham
This research will determine proof-of-concept for the potential of mTOR inhibition in relation to ameliorating human frailty.
Project lead:
Sonia Gandhi, The Francis Crick Institute
This research will apply super-resolution microscopy and single-molecule techniques to identify oligomer-based biomarkers of aging and to elucidate the proteostasis network in the brain.
Project lead:
Duncan Richards, University of Oxford
This study aims to identify the therapeutic applicability of Oxygen nanobubbles for tissue hypoxia as a model of ageing.
Project lead:
Ghada Alsaleh, University of Oxford
This project aims to identify new drugs which stimulate TFEB expression and autophagy, to counter deleterious age-associated autophagic decline.