Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center for Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging

The Nathan Shock Center for Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging was established in 2015 with a grant from the National Institutes of Health. It is one of only six Shock Centers nationwide.

Through the center, researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, OMRF and the Veterans Administration Medical Center work together to address the ways aging impacts disease and changes that occur in aging that predispose people to disease.

The Shock Center has three key functions:

• To develop a statewide presence as a leader in geroscience, where scientists can collaborate with colleagues at a wide range of institutions;
• Provide funding to support the development of aging-targeted research projects; and
• Provide unique services to researchers that are unavailable from other sources in Oklahoma

Shock Center staff also serve as mentors for junior investigators, especially at institutions with little aging research. They also provide leadership by directing younger researchers and allowing them access to core facilities to further their research projects.

The Shock Center grant also has established the Oklahoma Geroscience Consortium, which brings together aging-focused scientists at OUHSC, OMRF and VAMC, as well as Oklahoma State University and the OU campus in Norman.