Original story: UT Health San Antonio Newsroom
By Claire Kowalick
SAN ANTONIO (April 8, 2026)
New UT San Antonio study introduces analytical tool to better hone aging interventions
When scientists test potential life‑extending interventions, often the central question simply asks if the intervention works. New research from The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) suggests that the more meaningful questions may be when does it work and for whom?
In a study published in November’s issue of Nature Communications, scientists analyzed decades of data from the National Institute on Aging’s Intervention Testing Program. They found that many longevity‑promoting compounds do not have uniform effects across the lifespan. Instead, the benefits of these compounds, and in some cases their harms, can emerge at specific stages of life.
The work brings together expertise in aging biology and biostatistics and introduces a new analytical approach called the Temporal Efficacy Profiler. The tool — developed by a collaborative team led by James F. Nelson, PhD, professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine and the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, and Jonathan Gelfond, MD, PhD, vice chair and chief of the Division of Biostatistics in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Long School of Medicine — allows researchers to pinpoint when an intervention is beneficial, potentially harmful or merely ineffective.
“This is really an example of how important good teams are to achieving scientific objectives,” said Nelson, a longtime investigator in the biology of aging and a key contributor to the Interventions Testing Program. “This paper would not have happened without that collaboration, especially the contributions of our students.”
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