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08/11/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/11/2026 07:19

UC San Diego Named Central Lab for $101M XPRIZE Healthspan Competition

Published Date

August 11, 2026

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The Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California San Diego will serve as the Central Laboratory and Biorepository for the XPRIZE Healthspan Competition, in which teams from around the world compete for $101M in research funding to create innovative interventions that restore muscle, cognitive, and immune function in order to extend the human healthspan.

"Being selected as the central hub for the world's most ambitious effort to extend human healthspan is an extraordinary honor," said Anthony Molina, PhD, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and scientific director of the Stein Institute. "Our 43-year legacy in the science of aging, combined with a fully integrated geroscience laboratory to support major international efforts uniquely positions us to ensure that the ten finalist teams receive the highest-quality, standardized data needed to demonstrate a decade-long extension of healthspan."

The Healthspan Competition is the latest in a long series of ambitious research competitions spearheaded by XPRIZE. Previous XPRIZE competitions include the 2004 Ansari XPRIZE, which led to the development of the first private, reusable suborbital spaceflight and jumpstarted the commercial spaceflight industry, as well as the 2022 AI-Driven Drug Discovery XPRIZE, which resulted in an AI drug development platform that has since been licensed to multiple pharmaceutical companies.

"We are proud to work alongside partners like the University of California San Diego, which serves as the Prize Technical Testing Partner for XPRIZE Healthspan," said Jamie Justice, PhD, executive director of XPRIZE Healthspan. "Testing represents a pivotal stage in our competition model - where bold ideas meet rigorous validation. We are grateful for UC San Diego's expertise to help ensure that breakthrough innovations are not only ambitious, but scientifically sound. We are energized by the progress we're seeing and excited for what lies ahead as we move into the finalist phase later this year."

"Partnering with XPRIZE underscores UC San Diego's commitment to cutting-edge, translational research that can improve the health of older adults worldwide," added John Carethers, MD, vice chancellor for Health Sciences at UC San Diego. "This partnership also demonstrates UC San Diego's leadership in the science of aging and longevity, and I look forward to seeing the new treatments and collaborations that will inevitably emerge as a result of this historic effort."

The current competition, which started in 2023, is one of the largest XPRIZE competitions to date, with an initial pool of more than 600 applicants. The 10 Milestone 2 Awardees, with the support of the UC San Diego central lab, will conduct coordinated clinical trials around the world to test their treatment approaches starting in 2026. XPRIZE has also partnered with University of Utah's Data Coordinating Center to validate the science of competing XPRIZE Healthspan teams. The winners will be announced in 2030.

Partnering with XPRIZE underscores UC San Diego's commitment to cutting-edge, translational research that can improve the health of older adults worldwide. This partnership also demonstrates UC San Diego's leadership in the science of aging and longevity, and I look forward to seeing the new treatments and collaborations that will inevitably emerge as a result of this historic effort. - John Carethers, vice chancellor for Health Sciences

The Stein Institute was selected to lead the central lab because of its extensive expertise studying the biological drivers of aging, experience coordinating global clinical studies, and its proven capabilities in biospecimen handling. The lab will serve several key functions for the competition, including:

  • Standardized Protocols: Creation and distribution of uniform clinical-trial procedures, specimen-handling guidelines, and assay methods for all finalist teams.
  • Biorepository Management: Secure, centrally-located storage of blood, tissue, and other biospecimens with full chain-of-custody controls.
  • Sample Analysis: Providing high-throughput genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and cellular-aging biomarker profiling to generate an objective health-span metric.
  • Data Integration and Reporting: Real-time data aggregation, quality-control oversight, and delivery of blinded results to the XPRIZE adjudication panel.

"The central laboratory is the scientific backbone of this competition," said Michael Corley, PhD, associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, who will co-lead the lab with Molina. "By providing a single, gold-standard platform for sample collection, multi-omics analysis and data integration, UC San Diego will set the benchmark for how we measure biological aging and will accelerate the translation of breakthrough therapies into clinical practice."

As well as a testament to UC San Diego's excellence in research on aging, the selection could also present a wealth of opportunities for global collaboration and industry partnership, as the finalist teams will be working closely with the Stein Institute, including on-site training at the central laboratory, standardized protocols, and oversight of sample collection and processing.

"This is a transformational effort in the science of aging, unlike anything that's ever been done before," added Molina. "The competition may end in 2030, but the long-term impact of this work will be felt for many years to come, both for scientists in the field and for future patients who will benefit from the resulting treatments.">

Read more news about: School of Medicine, Health Sciences, Stein Institute for Research on Aging

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