Southampton researchers will lead one of several new national research networks helping tackle challenges in ageing.
The MyAge network will focus on pathways of muscle development, differentiation and decline.
Over the course of the two-year project, scientists aim to build new directions and collaborations for future research. They will also develop a roadmap of changes that can help people live independently for longer.
Bringing experts together
Previous reviews of how to boost ageing research in the UK have found efforts to be fragmented, focusing on single aspects of ageing.
The 11 new national networks announced this week will become strong platforms to integrate expertise and knowledge.
They are funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC).
MyAge is directed in Southampton by Professor Keith Godfrey, Professor Karen Lillycrop and Professor Peter JS Smith. It is also led by Professor Carolyn Greig (Birmingham), Dr Kambiz Alavian (Imperial College), and Dr Mathew Piasecki (Nottingham).
Professor Godfrey, Nutrition Theme Lead in the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, said: “Our team is well advanced in exploring why the changes in the muscle energy-producing pathways occur and are looking at nutritional factors that could improve muscle function in later life. MyAge provides an important opportunity to bring together leading researchers in the UK to tackle one of the major influences on multiple long-term conditions in older people.”
Remaining healthy in later life
One of the most prominent changes associated with ageing is the loss of muscle mass and function. Up to half of muscle mass is lost by the eighth decade of life.
This leads to impaired mobility, falls, fractures, physical disability, and serious socioeconomic consequences. Muscle ageing is affected not just by genetic factors, but also by people's physical and social environment.
Professor Lillycrop, Professor of Epigenetics at the University of Southampton, said:
“Promoting healthy muscle ageing is recognised as a fundamental aspect of helping people to stay in good health as they grow older. Having identified differences in activity in key energy-producing pathways within muscle cells we can now start to develop interventions that will hopefully help many more people to remain active and healthy in later life.”
UK as a ‘global research power’
MyAge will combine experts from different disciplines and sectors to understand the fundamental mechanisms behind muscle ageing.
The network will work alongside the public, industry partners, charities, policymakers and health practitioners.
Professor Smith, Director of the Institute for Life Sciences, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for the UK Ageing Networks to come together, not only to address the pressing issues of ageing and associated health inequities, but also to identify points of intervention to help us live longer, healthier lives.
“This insightful funding from the BBSRC and MRC will reinforce the UK’s role as a global research power in an area of acute socioeconomic need.”