The Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies

04/21/2026

📢 Join us for the Barshop Institute 2026 Spring Seminar Series on April 22 from 4:00–5:00 PM!

We’re pleased to welcome Francine Grodstein, ScD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiologist at the RUSH Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center. She will be presenting: "Mexican Teachers Cohort Cognitive Study"

📍 In person: Barshop Institute Conference Room 2.2005
💻 Virtual: Zoom Webinar
☕️🍪 Light refreshments will be provided for in-person attendees
Host: Rebeca Wong, PhD

🔗 https://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

04/16/2026

📣 Save the Date!

Join us for the 2026 Masoro‑Barshop Conference on Aging, happening this fall in the Texas Hill Country! 🤠

🧬 Gerotherapeutic Discovery, Development & Translation
🗓 October 8–11, 2026
📍 The Mayan Dude Ranch, Bandera, TX

This annual conference brings together researchers and leaders in aging and longevity science for engaging discussions and collaboration.

Stay updated here 👉 http://bit.ly/3UG2bew

04/06/2026

Barshop Institute 2026 Spring Seminar Series

"Targeting Obesity and Aging: The Roles of Hyaluronan, Metabolic Hormones, and Emerging Mechanisms"

Join us for an engaging seminar featuring Yi Zhu, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics – Nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine.

🗓 Date: April 8, 2026
🕓 Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 Location: Barshop Institute, Conference Room 2.2005
💻 Virtual Option Available via Zoom
☕️🍪 Light refreshments will be provided for in-person attendees
Host: Shangang Zhao, PhD

🔗 https://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

03/31/2026

📢 Barshop Institute Spring Seminar – April 1, 2026

Join us for a seminar with Guanshi Zhang, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at UT Health San Antonio.

Dr. Zhang will present:
“CerS6 in Podocytes: Driving Renal Aging and Glomerular Dysfunction.”

🗓 Date: April 1, 2026
🕓 Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 Location: Barshop Institute, Conference Room 2.2005 (In-person)
💻 Virtual Option: Zoom Webinar
☕🍪 Light refreshments will be provided.

Hosted by the San Antonio Pepper Center.

👉 bit.ly/4jjeaJw

03/20/2026

📢 Barshop Institute Spring Seminar – March 25, 2026

Join us for an engaging seminar with Philipp Scherer, PhD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Touchstone Diabetes Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Scherer will present:
“Sticky Drops and Stiff Tissues: How Lipid Droplets and Fibrosis Shape Metabolic Disease.”

🗓 Date: March 25, 2026
🕓 Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 Location: Barshop Institute, Conference Room 2.2005 (In-person)
💻 Virtual Option: Zoom Webinar

☕🍪 Light refreshments will be provided.

Hosted by Dr. Shangang Zhao.

👉 http://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

03/19/2026

🎧 Tune in to Dr. Elena Volpi on The Source from Texas Public Radio for an engaging conversation on aging, healthspan, and the science of longevity. 🧬

Listen here: bit.ly/4bmMz8g

Three drugs that are already approved for people and are on the market — rapamycin, semaglutide and dapagliflozi — could help pick the lock on living longer and healthier. The San Antonio Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies is, for the first time, looking at these drugs to evaluate...

03/16/2026

Can 3 existing drugs slow aging? UT Health San Antonio prepares major study to find out.

Over 700 South Texans will take part in major UT Health San Antonio study testing three drugs that might slow aging in older adults.

03/13/2026

A new federal initiative is accelerating research to extend healthy years of life. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is investing up to $144 million through the PROSPR (Proactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience) program to test therapies and develop new tools aimed at slowing age-related decline and improving quality of life.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is a key leader in the effort. Researchers at the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies will help run large clinical trials evaluating whether existing FDA-approved drugs can delay age-related functional decline and extend healthspan.

Read more:

Original story: ScienceInsider ARPA-H will “build the train tracks” for first large clinical studies of aging interventions By: Mitch Leslie A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 391, Issue 6790. (09 MAR 2026) ­— Aging is the unindicted coconspirator in many of the diseases that ca...

02/27/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Laurence Maeyens on his first-author publication in Nature Aging!

Laurence, a PhD student in the Biology of Aging program, led a review titled “Visceral adiposity, metabolic health and aging.” The paper examines whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is simply associated with aging or plays a causal role in metabolic decline. The authors conclude that VAT is not inherently harmful, but becomes pathogenic under specific metabolic, inflammatory, and hormonal conditions — and they outline emerging strategies to target VAT to promote healthy aging.

👉 bit.ly/4kVHjLY

02/25/2026

🎉 We proudly celebrate Dr. Elena Volpi and the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at UT Health San Antonio on receiving up to $38 million in funding from ARPA-H.

This transformative investment will support the VITAL-H clinical trial and accelerate pioneering research focused on aging and healthy longevity — further strengthening San Antonio’s position as a national leader in longevity science.

👏 Please join us in congratulating Dr. Volpi and the Barshop Institute on this remarkable achievement!

👉 bit.ly/4qYCEdH

02/24/2026

Join us for the Barshop Institute 2026 Spring Seminar Series!

🗓 Wednesday, February 25
⏰ 4:00–5:00 PM CT

We’re pleased to welcome Joshua Mendell, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He will present:
🧬 “New Regulators of Coding and Noncoding RNAs in Mammals.”

📍 In person: Barshop Institute, Conference Room 2.2005
💻 Virtual: Zoom Webinar

🍪☕ Light refreshments provided

Hosted by Masahiro Morita, PhD.

👉 bit.ly/4jjeaJw

02/13/2026

Join us for the Barshop Institute 2026 Spring Seminar Series!

🗓 Wednesday, February 18
⏰ 4:00–5:00 PM CT

We’re pleased to welcome Hongyuan (Robert) Yang, PhD, Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology at UT Houston, McGovern Medical School. He will present:
🧬 “Lipid Storage and Trafficking in Metabolic Diseases.”

📍 In person: Barshop Institute, Conference Room 2.2005
💻 Virtual: Zoom Webinar

🍪☕ Light refreshments provided

Hosted by Roger Shi, PhD.

👉 bit.ly/4jjeaJw