Buck Institute to tackle aging research with stem cell funds

The Buck Institute for Age Research was the only non-academic group to receive California stem cell grants for new research facilities this year. After qualifying for $20.5 million in state funds, the institute now plans to build a 65,000-square-foot research center on its campus in Novato, CA. When the $41 million facility opens, the institute plans to expand its work in the field of aging and chronic diseases as researchers explore ways to expand the average life span beyond its current limits.

"We think the link between aging and getting diseases has really been under-appreciated," James Kovach, the Buck Institute's president and COO, told BioRegion News. "It's really looking at healthy populations earlier, and then understanding the aging process so that you can delay it. By delaying the aging process, we believe you'll delay the onset of virtually every chronic disease in parallel. We refer to it as the longevity dividend [that results] if you can help people avoid chronic diseases, particularly in the 60s and 70s, so that essentially people live a healthy life--the clinical reference to that is compressing morbidity."

- check out the release on the funding
- read the Q&A from BioRegion News

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