The Dog Aging Project, being conducted by the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), the University of Washington School of Medicine and a dozen other partner institutions, is supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health.

Ultimately, the varied, rich and complex data collected through the project will allow the team to characterize aging in companion dogs, metrics which do not currently exist. To generate that data, owners will use tests developed by the DAP scientists to measure changes in physical function as their dogs age. There are similar tests for aging humans—moving from seated to standing, gripping devices or age-specific normal ranges on blood chemistry values. For dogs, however, aside from owner observations, there are few standardized assessments. Researchers believe this study will contribute to fields beyond canine medicine because humans are affected by many of the same issues as dogs.

“The DAP is an innovative approach to understanding the process of aging,” said Francesca Macchiarini, chief of the biological resources branch in NIA’s Division of Aging Biology. “There are remarkable similarities between humans and their canine companions. They share the same environment, have similar lifestyles and, when it comes to aging, both species develop the same types of diseases.”

A recent $2.5 million pledge from a consortium of tech entrepreneurs has allowed the project to expand its most exciting component—the Test of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs (TRIAD) study.

A clinical trial will involve veterinary cardiologists at universities across the country. TRIAD will evaluate the effectiveness of the immunosuppressant drug rapamycin in hundreds of middle-aged, large-breed dogs. At lower doses rapamycin has been shown to increase lifespan, improve heart and cognitive function and reduce age-related disease in laboratory species.

Matt Kaeberlein, University of Washington professor and co-director of the Dog Aging Project, said TRIAD will provide the first clinical evaluation of an intervention that may increase lifespan and healthspan from this approach.

“Targeting biological aging is 21st century medicine, with the potential to greatly enhance healthy longevity for both people and our pets,” he said. “This generous donation will greatly accelerate our research and bring us closer to this goal.”

Because the project is an open-data study, scientists around the world from many different fields will have access to the massive amount of data generated, as well as the opportunity to contribute to the study in a variety of ways, based on their interests. For example, one key contributor is noted canine and archaic human genome science researcher Joshua Akey, of Princeton University.

“We are generating one of the most comprehensive catalogs of canine genomic variation, which will not only provide insights into the genetic determinants of aging but can also be leveraged to learn more about the evolutionary history of domesticated dogs and how humans shaped canine genetic variation through artificial selection,” he said.

For more information, or to learn how people can enroll their dog in the ongoing project, visit dogagingproject.org.