Building the capacity to translate discoveries in ageing science to intervention studies in humans across the life course

Major advances are being made in ageing science, but these advances are not always being translated from the laboratory to the clinic.

The ART (Ageing Research Translation) of Healthy Ageing Network aims to address this by bringing together people from a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to the biology of ageing, epidemiology, physiology, sports and exercise medicine, geriatric medicine, clinical trials, social gerontology and data science.

Network members, who possess complementary expertise, are working together to build the necessary capacity, knowledge and resources for effective translation of advances in ageing science into interventions for human testing.

We are delivering:

• A growing interdisciplinary network of researchers, from across the UK and beyond, with a focus on addressing novel questions on underlying biological processes of ageing with potential to translate into trials of interventions
• A thriving community of early career researchers with access to interdisciplinary training opportunities across multiple research organisations
• A broad and engaged stakeholder community (including the public, charities, policymakers, industry and regulators) who are actively involved in both shaping the research agenda and in knowledge transfer
• A clear road map and initial proof-of-concept for a Translational Platform for Healthy Ageing across the Life Course integrating UK infrastructure for studying human ageing biology and testing interventions

The ART network was funded by UKRI (BBSRC and MRC) between February 2022 and March 2025 and is led by Prof Miles Witham, Prof Rachel Cooper and Prof Avan Sayer (Newcastle University), Dr Kelly Bowden Davies (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Prof Claire Stewart and Dr Sandra Ortega-Martorell (Liverpool John Moores University). It is one of 11 networks funded as part of the ageing across the life course interdisciplinary research network call.

For updates on our translational ageing research, please see the AGE Research Group website and the Ageing, Sarcopenia and Multimorbidity research theme of the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre.