Barshop Institute

Research

Over 160 faculty members at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio conduct biomedical and clinical research spanning molecular genetics to elderly healthcare. Investigations cover fundamental aging processes such as cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolism, inflammation, genomic instability, and impaired tissue regeneration. Major disease areas include Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, frailty, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and age-associated liver disease. The institute integrates laboratory research, animal models, clinical trials, and population studies to develop therapies targeting aging mechanisms.

Centers

The San Antonio Nathan Shock Center, established in 1995, is one of eight NIA-funded Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging in the United States. Its mission is to identify molecular, cellular, and physiological mechanisms driving aging and translate discoveries into interventions that delay age-associated diseases and functional decline. The Center provides an integrated research infrastructure supporting experimental design, animal model development, functional phenotyping, pathology, metabolism, pharmacology, and data interpretation, enabling multidisciplinary lifespan and healthspan studies.

Clinical Research and Clinical Trials

Clinical research at the Barshop Institute translates aging biology discoveries into interventions that improve healthspan and prevent chronic age-related diseases. The institute supports Phase I–IV clinical trials, investigator-initiated studies, and multicenter collaborations across conditions including frailty, sarcopenia, metabolic dysfunction, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, mobility impairment, and osteoporosis. Trials evaluate novel therapeutics, lifestyle interventions, nutritional strategies, exercise programs, and repurposed medications. Multidisciplinary teams of physician-scientists, basic scientists, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, rehabilitation specialists, nutrition experts, and clinical research professionals collaborate with the Nathan Shock Center, the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, the Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Population Aging and Social Studies, and the Interventions Testing Program to rapidly translate mechanistic discoveries into human studies targeting fundamental aging mechanisms.

Training and Education

The NIA T32 Training Program for Research Scientists in the Biology of Aging is a premier institutional program preparing future leaders in geroscience. For over three decades, it has trained predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows who have become independent scientists and leaders in academia, government, and industry. The program aims to develop investigators capable of translating fundamental aging biology into healthspan-improving interventions.

Trainees receive mentor-guided research experiences integrating molecular, cellular, organismal, and translational approaches, emphasizing geroscience principles. Each trainee follows an individualized plan with a primary mentor and multidisciplinary committee. Training combines laboratory research with didactic coursework, journal clubs, works-in-progress seminars, grant-writing workshops, responsible conduct of research training, scientific communication, peer-review experience, and career development planning, with regular evaluations to foster scientific independence.