Can AI help us age better? Bay Area scientists are trying to find out. By Panashe Matemba-Mutasa, The Mercury News The Tribune Content Agency June 17, 2026 12:57 PM Gift Article A growing number of researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to understand why some people remain healthy into their 90s while others develop chronic diseases decades earlier. At labs throughout the Bay Area, the technology is fueling a wave of longevity research aimed at measuring how long people live - and how well they age. Researchers say AI can uncover early signs of age-related diseases, predict an individual's biological age and identify factors contributing to healthier lives - all by sifting through vast amounts of data to find patterns nearly impossible for humans to detect. The tools are still being refined. But scientists believe they could accelerate discoveries to improve health and independence into older adulthood. The most ambitious applications of AI in aging research, including speeding drug development and testing, remain years away, experts said. Researchers must also navigate bias within systems trained on data that may not reflect the full diversity of the population. Still, patients are already seeing some benefits, such as AI-assisted scan readings that can reduce the odds of false positives. "We're already seeing the benefits," said Nathan Price, chief scientist at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato. Any discovery won't be an anti-aging silver bullet. Social, behavioral and structural factors - including whether patients can access or choose to use those treatments - will play an equally important role, said Angie Perone, the director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services at UC Berkeley. "This is only one piece of an important puzzle," Perone said. Predicting how cells age. Scientists at Gladstone Institutes, based in San Francisco, recently launched an AI model to predict how human cells evolve with age. Trained on millions of cells, the model attempts to map the trajectory of aging, allowing researchers to forecast how cells might change and identify potential drivers of age-related decline. That marks a shift from earlier approaches, which largely compared snapshots of "young" and "old" cells. Instead, the model, developed by scientists led by physician-scientist Christina Theodoris, treats aging as a continuous process that can be learned and predicted. The team also tested some of the model's predictions in biological systems, identifying genes expected to accelerate aging and validating those effects in human heart cells and in mice. That kind of experimental follow-up is essential, experts say, though the research remains in early stages. "The real test will be whether these predictions hold up across many tissues and disease contexts," said Hani Goodarzi, a core investigator at Palo Alto-based Arc Institute, noting current tools, including animal models, are imperfect benchmarks. Significant hurdles remain. The model will require large-scale datasets that track how cells respond to drugs and genetic changes, along with validation across a wider range of tissues and diseases. And even the most accurate predictions must ultimately be translated into real-world therapies. Searching for hidden patterns. At the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, scientists are using artificial intelligence to figure out how to help people stay healthier for longer. One of the institute's AI projects integrates individual genetic information, clinical lab results, microbiome data and other health measurements. Drawing on a database containing thousands of biological measurements from research participants, the system identifies patterns and generates personalized insights about health risks and interventions. "The microbiome is highly predictive of who will lose weight," Price said, noting that AI can uncover connections hidden within vast datasets. Users can interact with the platform through a chatbot-like interface that generates graphs, health scores and detailed analyses of their data. They expect the tool to be released to the public by the end of the year. It is part of Healthspan Horizons, a large-scale research initiative supported by a $52 million grant that aims to enroll thousands of participants and better understand the biology of aging on an individual level. Detecting disease earlier. Artificial intelligence is also reshaping the way researchers study Alzheimer's disease by shifting the focus from symptoms to the biological changes occurring inside the brain. Rather than relying primarily on memory loss and other cognitive symptoms, AI is helping scientists analyze complex brain scans and other data to identify those changes earlier and more objectively. "The way we see Alzheimer's has shifted from seeing it as a clinical cognitive syndrome to a more biological disease," said Duygu Tosun-Turgut, a professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at UC San Francisco and founding director of Medical Imaging Informatics and Artificial Intelligence at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. That capability is particularly valuable for clinical trials. Before, researchers sometimes enrolled patients whose symptoms resembled Alzheimer's but were caused by other conditions, making it harder to determine whether experimental treatments were effective. AI can help identify people with the disease's true biological signatures, improving both patient selection and trial outcomes. Beyond research, Turgut believes AI could improve access to dementia screening and diagnosis, particularly in underserved communities. Specialized memory clinics remain scarce in many parts of the country, and studies have shown that dementia is often underdiagnosed among people with lower socioeconomic status. "Hopefully, we can develop tools that are cheap and scalable enough to be distributed to every geographic spot in the world," she said. Still, she and other researchers cautioned that AI systems are only as good as the data used to train them. Many research cohorts are disproportionately composed of highly educated participants and may not reflect the demographic diversity of the broader population. And so the promise of AI hinges on a hurdle researchers have yet to fully overcome: bias. Until these systems can consistently produce accurate, equitable results across diverse populations, human oversight remains essential. Still, scientists and startups are betting that AI will play an increasingly central role in unraveling the biology of aging, and, perhaps one day, extending healthy years of life.

Gladstone Institutes receives USD 2m NIAID award for AI-guided phage therapy development. May 20, 2026 Gladstone Institutes has received a USD 2 million NIAID P01 award to establish the PhAIge Therapy Center, a multi-project preclinical program applying AI-guided engineering and molecular typing to accelerate phage therapy development against multidrug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens, with an initial focus on Klebsiella pneumoniae. The five-year grant, running through April 2031, funds two research projects and three supporting cores under principal investigator Seth Lawler Shipman. The first project develops high-throughput, sequencing-based assays to quantify rate constants across each stage of the phage infection cycle - recognition, entry, replication, packaging, and lysis - generating the granular kinetic data needed to rationally select and engineer phages with superior bactericidal activity. The second project uses multiplexed assays to rapidly characterize K. pneumoniae strains by capsule type and susceptibility profile, enabling construction of optimized, off-the-shelf phage cocktails matched to individual clinical isolates. Two specialized cores anchor the translational infrastructure. An Advanced Computational Core integrates bioinformatics pipelines, machine learning, and AI-driven modeling to predict phage-host interactions and guide candidate selection. An Organoid and Human Cell Culture Core incorporates 3D human tissue models and primary cell cultures into early screening, capturing host-pathogen dynamics that standard in vitro assays do not reflect. The program also includes an Administrative Core that manages a development and research pilot program and coordinates with clinical and industry advisors. The P01 mechanism, typically reserved for multi-investigator center-scale efforts, reflects the scope of infrastructure the Gladstone team is assembling. The combination of quantitative infection-cycle assays, AI-guided phage selection, and human-relevant tissue models represents an attempt to address a persistent bottleneck in phage therapy development: the absence of standardized, predictive preclinical tools that can reliably translate to clinical outcomes. ESKAPE pathogens - Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species - account for a substantial proportion of hospital-acquired infections globally and are associated with high rates of multidrug resistance. K. pneumoniae in particular has drawn research attention due to the diversity of its capsule types, which directly determine phage susceptibility and complicate the design of broadly effective phage preparations. NIAID's decision to fund a center structured around capsule typing and AI-guided tailspike engineering reflects the recognized complexity of matching phages to clinical bacterial isolates at scale. This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by the AllSci editorial team Explore more at AllSci News: https://allsci.com/news/

Exclusive: biotech group leases 105,000 square feet in S.F. as it plans to hire 300 scientists. By Roland Li, Staff Writer March 25, 2026 Biomedical research nonprofit Gladstone Institutes has leased 105,000 square feet in the last major new building of San Francisco's Mission Bay, part of the company's expansion plans that include hiring 300 new scientists. The deal at 1450 Owens St. includes space for 30 new labs and is one of the city's biggest leases of 2026, so far. It includes the option for Gladstone to purchase the building in the future and is a block from its headquarters at 1650 Owens St. Get Digital Access and Stay Informed With Trusted Local News. Gladstone's work is increasingly focused on using artificial intelligence - a booming sector in Mission Bay - to speed up research around drug discovery. The new building will house the Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology and the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology. Article continues below this ad "We embed the AI and technology with the biological questions," said Dr. Deepak Srivastava, president of Gladstone. "We are both inventors and rapid adopters of technology." Gladstone's hiring plans would increase its current staff of around 600 scientists by 50%. Research areas include heart disease, infectious diseases, cancer, and neurological diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. See more S.F. Chronicle on google. Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search. Gladstone is currently recruiting lab leaders from around the world. That's despite two major challenges in the past year: the Trump administration's hostility to foreign immigration and widespread federal research cuts. Article continues below this ad Around $80 million of Gladstone's $125 million annual budget comes from grants from the National Institutes of Health, and funding dropped by 10% last year, Srivastava said. "In the U.S. we've really benefited from the most brilliant minds coming here. That's certainly under threat," he said. Despite the obstacles, Gladstone is continuing its expansion plans, in part by seeking more philanthropic support. Starting in 2024, Gladstone sought to raise $350 million by 2029. Around $200 million has been raised to date. Major donors include real estate developer and former Giants owners Bob Lurie and wife Connie; real estate developer John Sobrato and wife Susan; former venture capitalist Bill Younger, who is chair of Gladstone's board, and wife Brenda; hedge fund manager William Fisher, who is the son of Gap's co-founders, and wife Sakurako; Divesh Makan, co-founder of Iconiq Capital, and Diksha Makan; and the Dolby family. "The work we're doing is too important to slow at this moment when we have greater opportunity (through technology). I just wasn't willing to slow down," Srivastava said. "Every day we go slower is more people dying." Gladstone was established in 1979 and is named for Jack David Gladstone, a real estate developer who left most of his fortune to biomedical research. The nonprofit was one of the first tenants in Mission Bay in 2004, alongside UCSF. "When I moved here, it was all abandoned warehouses. There was just two buildings. This growth is phenomenal," Srivastava said. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, a major biotech landlord, has also built numerous Mission Bay buildings including 1450 Owens St., which is the last major parcel in the area. DGA Architects and IwamotoScott Architecture designed the building. Alexandria doesn't typically start construction on new buildings until it secures an anchor tenant, but did so at 1450 Owens after requests from the city, said Joel Marcus, Alexandria's executive chairman. Construction started in 2022 and was completed in 2024. (Gladstone will build its own tenant improvements and plans to move in by early 2027.) Marcus called the building "a great place for innovative research," with state-of-the-art lab space. Around half of the building remains vacant, and Marcus said both biotech and AI tenants have shown interest in the remaining space. He called Mission Bay a "thriving metropolis" that now has biotech, AI, housing, and a major sports and entertainment complex in Chase Center. Still, the biotech industry remains in a downturn, with widespread layoffs and funding cuts. Though Gladstone is a nonprofit, it partners with for-profit companies to take drugs through clinical trials and eventual Food and Drug Administration approval. Srivastava is "starting to see the green shoots of a resurgence," with more drug approval activity and investments. "It's been a rough period," he said. "People are starting to see the convergence of AI and biotech is so powerful right now." Get inside access to the deals and developments transforming San Francisco and the Bay Area. March 25, 2026 Business Reporter Roland Li covers commercial real estate for the business desk, focusing on the Bay Area office and retail sectors. He was previously a reporter at San Francisco Business Times, where he won one award from the California News Publishers Association and three from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. He is the author of "Good Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports," a 2016 book on the history of the competitive video game industry. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, he studied and worked in New York. He freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other local publications. His hobbies include swimming and urban photography.