As NIH grant runs out, Dog Aging Project founders look to raise up to $50 million
The project — a beacon of hope for human longevity research — has been studying the biology of aging in nearly 50,000 companion dogs.
The Dog Aging Project, which researchers say could yield promising leads for human longevity research, is at a critical crossroads after the National Institute on Aging declined to renew their grant funding.
The massive project has been tracking the aging process of almost 50,000 companion dogs across the country through surveys and a biobank with over 14,000 tissue and other samples. With the funding from NIA — a part of the National Institutes of Health — set to run out in June, the project stands to lose as much as 90% of its annual budget. Starting in 2018, the project has received about $29 million in federal funding. Despite the loss of funding, the project’s co-founders aren’t ready to roll over and play dead, just yet — their long-term goal is to raise at least $40 million, and possibly up to $50 million to fund research related to the biology of aging in dogs, and humans.
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