The Dog Aging Project has secured a five-year, $7 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to continue testing rapamycin’s effects on canine health and aging.

The award restores momentum after a funding lapse in 2024 and will support a clinical study that now includes 580 dogs enrolled to test whether rapamycin — described by project material as “one of the most promising geroprotective agents identified to date” — can extend healthspan. The Dog Aging Project was launched in 2019 with a five-year, $29 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the TRIAD clinical trial began enrolling in 2021; investigators aim to begin medication dosing in spring 2026 and conclude follow-up in November 2029. This research is part of a broader trend in veterinary aging studies, increasingly focused on large, longitudinal projects that explore genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors affecting the healthspan of companion animals.

Investigators plan to complete enrollment by the end of the year so that study veterinarians can begin administering rapamycin the following spring, according to the project’s timeline. The trial’s methodology is detailed in a review article published February 14 in the journal GeroScience, which the Dog Aging Project says supports the study design and next steps. As part of their support, pet owners can nominate their dogs to participate, complete health surveys, and upload veterinary records, enhancing the depth of data collected in such studies.

Researchers and veterinarians associated with the Dog Aging Project say the work could yield insights that matter to both companion animals and people. “We all want our dogs to live longer, healthier lives,” said Dr. Kate Creevy, chief veterinary officer for the Dog Aging Project. She added that the trial — referenced in project communications as TRIAD — also highlights connections between veterinary medicine and human biological research: “But the other thing that’s really important about TRIAD is that it’s another terrific example of how relevant veterinary medicine is to human health, and to the basic biology and science that we can learn about in diverse species.” The findings from the study could inform not just canine health but also broader veterinary practices, offering lessons applicable to human aging and disease.

The trial draws on a network of participating owners and clinicians across the country. One participant, Halo, is a 13-year-old wire-haired Labradoodle who has spent his life as a search-and-rescue dog in the mountains of Colorado. Halo’s owner, Ted Katauskas, said enlisting his dog felt fitting. “It really is kind of a full circle of life of service for this dog,” Katauskas said. Aging dogs like Halo are often susceptible to various common health issues, such as osteoarthritis, dental disease, and cognitive decline, which this study aims to better understand.

Dr. Rachel Melvin, a fellow with the Dog Aging Project, is listed among the study’s personnel and is part of the team overseeing enrollment and clinical procedures. Project leaders have emphasized the planned cohort size: the study’s target enrollment is 580 dogs in the TRIAD trial, a figure the team expects will allow for meaningful comparisons over the multi-year study window. This robust enrollment aligns with the project’s aim of gathering extensive data that can reveal significant patterns in aging.

Funding for the Dog Aging Project began with a five-year, $29 million award from the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, which supported the project’s 2019 launch and the subsequent development of the TRIAD trial that began in 2021. After the project experienced a funding lapse in 2024 when its original NIA grant was not renewed, a new five-year, $7 million grant from the National Institute on Aging now provides resources to sustain the rapamycin clinical trial and associated data collection through the trial’s scheduled end. This new funding is vital for the success of the initiative, which strives to advance our understanding of interventions that could slow biological aging in pets.

Project staff have published methodological details to guide clinicians and participating owners, and the team continues to recruit and prepare dogs for baseline assessments ahead of medication start. Investigators expect to track health outcomes across the enrolled cohort through November 2029, capturing changes in mobility, disease onset and other measures of age-related health. The Dog Aging Project’s work follows a broader trend of larger, longitudinal studies in veterinary aging research that test interventions aimed at slowing biological aging in companion animals. The project has encouraged owners to participate by completing health surveys and sharing veterinary records as part of the study’s data-gathering framework.

The grant from the National Institute on Aging will fund the next phase of the rapamycin trial and help ensure the enrolled dogs complete the study protocol through the planned 2029 end date.

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