The project, titled “Stress-Induced Aging: Investigating Chronic Wound Stress as a Catalyst for Systemic Aging and Functional Decline,” is led by Daniel S. Roh, MD, PhD, assistant professor of surgery; Vladimir A. Botchkarev, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology and co-director of the BU Center for Aging Research; and LaDora V. Thompson, PhD, BS, PT, the Travis M. Roy Professor at BU’s Sargent College of Rehabilitation Sciences. This award is part of a broader NIA initiative examining how various stressors in adulthood physical, social, or environmental affect aging. The program starts with exploratory R61 awards to determine whether specific stressors trigger measurable aging-related changes, potentially leading to subsequent R33 awards to expand these findings and assess their long-term effects on lifespan, resilience, and health interventions.

Chronic wounds including diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, and pressure sores are prevalent among older adults, challenging to heal, and prone to recurrence. Beyond their immediate effects, these wounds create ongoing stress on the body and may promote age-related conditions such as frailty, muscle loss, and weakened immunity. The BU team aims to investigate whether this persistent wound stress accelerates both biological and physical aspects of aging.

In the R61 exploratory phase, Roh’s team will develop a novel experimental model to mimic prolonged wound stress in adulthood and evaluate its impact on biological aging markers such as inflammation, cellular senescence, and epigenetic changes as well as physical decline, including frailty, muscle loss, and immune dysfunction. If funded for the subsequent R33 phase, the research will expand to investigate how pre-existing frailty worsens these effects and to test potential interventions like senolytic drugs, anti-inflammatory treatments, and exercise to slow or reverse aging-related decline driven by the chronic stress of persistent wounds.

Source: https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/news-events/articles/2025/bu-researchers-awarded-nih-grant-to-investigate-chronic-wound-stress-as-a-driver-of-aging/