Geroscience: The Biology of Aging

Globally, the population is aging at an accelerated pace, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexico. In 1990, the country’s life expectancy for women was 75 years, and 68 for men. The most recent numbers from 2010 show an increase for women to 78 years, and 73 in the case of men. At the present, in Mexico there are around 10 million people over 60 years of age, which is equivalent to 9.1 percent of the total population.

Therefore, there is a need to understand the specific aging mechanism that concerns Mexico, such as the prevalence of the main chronic diseases, genetic and environmental factors and the potential effectiveness of different preventive medical strategies to increase the possibility of having a healthier life expectancy.

The new CINVESTAV Center for Research on Aging, located in Mexico City, aims to promote the generation of cutting-edge knowledge that responds to the country’s needs. Interconnecting basic scientific research, specialized clinical studies and technological development will allow the center to become a reference in integrated and multidisciplinary biomedical research with a clear impact on human health.

The purpose for this new center is to establish itself competitively at an international level, and to become a central axis to develop state-of-the-art research in the field of geroscience. The importance of the construction of this research site lies in the fact that within a few years the elderly population in Mexico will occupy a significant demographic block. The Center will focus on the study of the biology of aging, seeking to understand why this process leads to disease and functional decline.

The research team will be comprised of professionals with a primary interest in geroscience, but it will also include experts in other areas such as regenerative medicine and pathologies linked to age and nutrition. In parallel, the center will contribute to the training of a new generation of Mexican scientists and at the same time promote innovation for the development of life sciences and related services technologies.