New USC center seeks answers to sex differences in aging

Women live longer than men in nearly every country in the world, yet they experience higher rates of disability, dementia and many other age-related conditions. Scientists have long noted these differences, but they still do not fully understand why they occur - or how that knowledge can be used to improve healthy aging. Understanding these differences could lead to more effective ways to prevent disease, maintain independence and extend healthy life for everyone.

A new $7.5 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health will establish the USC Geroscience Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences in Aging (GeroSCORE) to address that challenge.

The award establishes USC's first NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) and positions the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology as a national leader in advancing research on sex differences in aging.

Funded by the National Institute on Aging in partnership with the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, GeroSCORE brings together experts in aging biology, neuroscience, psychology, epidemiology, demography, sociology and data science to understand how biological sex interacts with genetics, hormones, behavior, and social and physical environments to shape aging across the lifespan.