title: Developing a research agenda in biogerontology: basic mechanisms.
abstract: The National Institute on Aging (NIA) began operation in 1975, splitting off from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The first 10 years of NIA's existence were characterized by funding descriptive and discovery research, as the field by then had not come of age. With the isolation of long-lived animal mutants and the application of the tools of molecular biology (including whole-genome sequencing) and transgenic technology to biogerontology research, the situation has changed dramatically since then, and aging-related research has become increasingly mechanistic and respectable. This transition has been aided by research initiatives implemented by NIA staff, and the goal of this article is to describe how NIA develops such research initiatives using research progress made in biogerontology over the past 20 years as the basis for the discussion.
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. warne033@umn.edu
authors.forename: Huber R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Warner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D017209:Apoptosis; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000639:trends*; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011371:Progeria / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D013234:Stem Cells; D014481:United States