CREA's Mission

ever before in human history has so much been known about our bodies and the molecular mechanics that dictate their function. Even though people are living longer, with the percentage of Americans aged 65 and older rising from 4% in 1900 to 13% in 1998, little is known about why we become old. Among the challenges that greets the dawn of this millennium is the maintenance of good health and the postponement or reversal of old age and its debilitating diseases. In other words, how can we preserve youthfulness later in life?

By combining the keen minds of University of California scientists with the steady hands and eager intellect of its student body, the new Center for Research and Education in Aging (CREA) will rise to the challenge. The mission of CREA is to investigate the basic processes that cause aging, with the goal of improving and extending human health span. CREA integrates the efforts of cell and molecular biologists, structural and computational biologists, geneticists, physiologists and public health professionals, who are the intellectual assets and resources of the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. CREA is also associated with the Buck Institute for Age Research, a private nonprofit basic biomedical research institute located in Novato, California. The Buck Institute, which opened in 1999, is devoted to studying the basic biology of aging and of age-associated diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, stroke and cancer. More information about research and educational programs of the Buck Institute is available at its website (www.buckinstitute.org).

This unique partnership brings to the study of aging an approach that most medical schools cannot marshal because they focus on specific diseases and their treatments. Aging makes us vulnerable to disease and injury, but we do not know why. Research into the process responsible for aging remains seriously neglected. CREA is designed to create a research/education environment that fosters basic aging research and educates the next generations of scientists.

At CREA, innovative research, which too often goes unsupported, will be of prime interest. CREA will accelerate the discovery process of preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Support for CREA comes from competitive grants and the generosity of private donors. An endowment for CREA has been established by BioTime, Inc., a Berkeley, California-based biotechnology company, to better understand the mechanisms of aging and improve medical procedures focused on older patients.

By integrating the efforts of some of the world's best academic, government, and biotechnology industry laboratories, CREA will be a vital source for driving breakthroughs in improving health and youthfulness.