The Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies

06/24/2025

Exciting news from UT Health San Antonio! 🎉

Dr. Daohong Zhou, a tenured professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, has been awarded over $2.4 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to expand the university’s core research facilities.

This major investment will enhance our ability to discover and develop new treatments for drug-resistant cancers—especially those that are hardest to treat, like brain tumors and soft tissue sarcomas. With state-of-the-art technologies such as CRISPR screening and small molecule degraders, Dr. Zhou and his team are pushing the boundaries of cancer research.

Learn more about how this grant will drive innovation in cancer therapy. 💡🧬

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) received $3,395,970 in new academic research and prevention awards as part of the latest $98 million funding round announced on May 21 by the Cancer Research Prevention Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The state agency,....

06/09/2025

🎉 Exciting news from UT Health San Antonio!
Our Barshop Institute team has been named a Semifinalist in the global XPRIZE Healthspan competition—a $101 million, 7-year challenge focused on extending healthy human lifespan.

Selected from over 600 teams across 58 countries, our project, “Rejuvenation Through Low-Frequency Ultrasound,” aims to reverse cellular aging using non-invasive ultrasound technology. With support from a $250K Milestone 1 award, we’re launching early human trials right here in San Antonio.

This is a major step forward in our mission to improve healthspan and redefine aging science. 💡🧬

🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/43TWWvg

Original story: UT Health San Antonio Newsroom Contact: Claire Kowalick, kowalick@uthscsa.edu SAN ANTONIO (June 5, 2025) ­— More than 600 teams from 58 countries around the world entered the XPRIZE Healthspan competition. That number has now been whittled down to 100 semifinalists and 40 top awar...

06/04/2025

🎙️ Pepper Center investigator Dr. Lisa Kilpela recently spoke with Texas Public Radio about her research on food insecurity and binge eating in older women.

Her work sheds light on critical, often overlooked challenges facing older adults—don't miss it!



🔗 Listen here:

A San Antonio researcher hopes to dispel myths about who is at risk for eating disorders while studying the interaction between binge eating disorder and food insecurity in older Hispanic women.

05/27/2025

📣 Registration is now open!
Join us for the 2025 Masoro-Barshop Conference on Aging, happening October 9–12 at the beautiful Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas.

This year’s theme is: "Dietary Approaches to Geroscience Intervention"

Explore how nutrition can influence aging and age-related diseases alongside top researchers and experts in the field.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and advance aging science in a one-of-a-kind setting.

🔗 Learn more and register here: http://bit.ly/3UG2bew

05/27/2025

📅 Mark your calendar!
Join us on Wednesday, May 28 at 4:00 PM CT for the next talk in our Spring Seminar Series.

We’re excited to welcome Stephen Harridge, PhD, who will present:
"The Biology of Human Aging: Differentiating Ageing from Inactivity"

Learn more on aging science and human health.
🔗 More info: http://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

05/02/2025

Join us Wednesday, May 7th at 4pm CT for our Spring Seminar Series. Kevin Bieniek, PhD, presents: "3D brain modeling and : tools for brain aging and disease research."

More info: http://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

04/25/2025

🧪🔬 A collaborative breakthrough from UT Health San Antonio, Duke University, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is reshaping our understanding of drug delivery.

Led by Dr. Hong-yu Li and Dr. Zhengyu Wang (UT Health San Antonio), alongside Dr. Hui-kuan Lin (Duke) and Dr. Zhiqiang Qin (UAMS), the research team uncovered the mechanism behind how cells take in large, polar drugs—compounds previously believed to be too complex for efficient uptake.

Even more exciting: they developed a novel strategy to enhance this process, potentially paving the way for more effective and targeted therapies.

This advancement in chemical endocytosis could mark a turning point in the future of precision medicine.

Discovery of chemical endocytosis could redefine precision medicine A team of scientists, notably Zhengyu Wang, PhD, assistant professor in the department of pharmacology and the Barshop Institute, led by Hong-yu Li, PhD, professor of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology with the department of p...

04/25/2025

Join us Wednesday, April 30th at 4pm CT for our Spring Seminar Series. Rebeca Wong, PhD, presents: "Insights and remaining gaps from a 23-year longitudinal population study on Mexican aging."

More info: http://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

04/18/2025

Join us Wednesday, April 23rd at 4pm CT for our Spring Seminar Series. Robert Williams, PhD, presents: "Genetic Modulation of Life Span: Dynamic Effects, S*x Differences, and Body Weight Trade-offs in UM-HET3 Mice."

More info: bit.ly/4jjeaJw

04/11/2025

Join us Wednesday, April 16th at 4pm CT for our Spring Seminar Series. David Cohen, MD, PhD presents: "Leveraging Energy Expenditure in the Management of -Associated Disorders."

More info: bit.ly/4jjeaJw

04/04/2025

Join us Wednesday, April 9th at 4pm CT for our Spring Seminar Series. Perry Bickel, MD presents: " 5 keeps in shape."

More info: https://bit.ly/4jjeaJw

03/31/2025

A new publication from Daniel Adekunbi, PhD, shows that aging is associated with a significant decline in mitochondrial bioenergetics in the brain in a non-human primate model of aging. This loss of energetics is associated with a similar decline in walking speed with age, highlighting a potential mechanism for increased frailty and loss of function with age.

Dr. Adekunbi is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Adam Salmon, PhD at the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies.

bit.ly/4iROgMm