Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet): Discovery, Validation Centers (UM1 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
NIH supports Cellular Senescence Network centers to discover and validate cellular senescence signatures and biomarkers and study their roles in health and disease; clinical trials are not allowed.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: November 23, 2026 (Application, 5:00 PM applicant organization’s local time)
Funding Amounts: Approximately $3 million annually in direct costs for up to 5 years; required SOOC budget of $600,000 annually
Summary: Supports centers discovering and validating disease-relevant cellular senescence signatures and biomarkers while building shared SenNet datasets and atlases.
Key Information: Every application must include a complete SenNet Organization and Outreach Component proposal; clinical trials are not allowed.
Description
The NIH Common Fund’s Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet) supports Discovery and Validation Centers as a core component of Stage 2. Building on Stage 1 resources, centers will define, refine, and validate tissue- and disease-relevant cellular senescence signatures, called “senotypes,” and associated biomarkers. They will investigate their functional consequences in human health and disease while generating molecular, cellular, and spatial datasets for publicly available Senescence Atlases.
Each center must focus on at least two diseased tissue types and balance deep biological characterization with community resource generation. Priorities include disease-specific biomarker discovery, preclinical models and validation, high-resolution assays and spatial mapping, and consortium-wide data sharing. Active development of senotherapeutics is not a program goal. The National Institute on Aging administers this cooperative agreement initiative on NIH’s behalf.
