In 2025, Prof Lord Kakkar, Chair of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR), invited the Chair of the BSRA, Professor David Weinkove, to produce a report outlining the barriers to translation for researchers in the biology of ageing.
Together with BSRA Trustee, Jon Houseley, a Group Leader at the Babraham Institute, David spoke to over 40 people, including prominent researchers in the field, clinicians, funders, investors and industrialists. We are grateful to each of these contributors for their insight and perspective.
The resulting report outlines the challenging reality facing many UK ageing researchers, but also includes eight recommendations for improving barriers to translation. You can read these in the Executive Summary below, with the full report available for download here.
The report was seen by Prof Lucy Chapell, Chief Science Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care, and CEO of the National Institute of Health Research, Prof Patrick Chinnery, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council and Prof Anne Ferguson-Smith, Executive Chair of the Biology and Biotechnology Research Council.
The BSRA will use the report to continue to advocate for the advancement of research in the biology of ageing research and look for opportunities to action these recommendations as part of its Vision. If you have additional comments or contributions that are not reflected in the document, please do get in touch at info@bsra.org.uk.
Barriers to Translation: Executive Summary
There is a long history of research into the biology of ageing in the UK. In recent decades, the discovery of molecular and genetic factors that influence ageing, particularly in model organisms, has given rise to the prospect that ageing can be slowed in humans by pharmaceutical means. This prospect is embodied in the geroscience hypothesis – that interventions targeting the underlying biological mechanisms of ageing could prevent or delay the onset of multiple diseases and hence
research and drug development in this area will be more effective than similar efforts for single diseases. Researchers in the ageing field have long argued that funding for this research needs to be increased dramatically because the outcomes would be unusually valuable for society and the potential for economic benefit is vast.
While there have been various initiatives by funding bodies in the area over the last 20 years, the required increase in funding has not been supported by the government, and there have not been strong calls for it from scientists in other fields, the medical profession, medical research charities or the general public. One issue is that over-hyped claims expressed by some scientists, entrepreneurs and influencers, mostly from outside the UK, has called the credibility of the field into question.
UK researchers in the field can address this challenge. They need to be clear about what we do and do not yet know about the biology of ageing. They need to outline clearly the steps by which the science of ageing would be translated into keeping people healthy for longer. They need to work with those researching ways to prevent specific diseases. They need to engage with clinicians and drug developers in these areas, with education and training working in both directions.
There are several barriers to translation at different levels, but I am confident that solutions can be found. The recommendations are summarised here:
1. Funding schemes specific for research on the biology of ageing at the scale and time frames required for useful research. This research should include basic research but with translational applications in mind.
2. Focus researchers into teams that work on specific areas of the biology of ageing to ensure resources are most efficiently used, yet making sure a broad range of areas is supported, allowing for new ideas.
3. Establishing a national service/centre for working with ethics boards and the Home Office to ensure better mouse experiments while maintaining welfare.
4. Use the biology of ageing to inform primary and secondary prevention strategies for single diseases, by working with researchers, clinicians, charities and industry in those fields.
5. Provide mechanisms for the researchers in the biology of ageing to engage with external stakeholders, including the general public, in honest discussions.
6. Reexamine the regulations for clinical trials, particularly for trials aimed at the prevention of disease. In trials focused on a single disease endpoint, biomarkers relating to other diseases should be monitored at the same time.
7. Training of basic researchers to understand the needs of industry and clinicians.
8. Training of clinical and industrial researchers in the biology of ageing.
Together these changes will increase the capacity for research on ageing within the UK,
leading to greater success and ultimately economic and societal impact.