CECAD: KPA Aging

Key Profile Area Aging-Associated Diseases (AGING)

The number of elderly people is steadily increasing across the globe. The aging process is the main risk factor for a number of diseases, some of which are chronic, including metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, dementia, renal insufficiency, and cancer.

The Key Profile Area (KPA) AGING focuses on the fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that lead to aging and its associated diseases. The Cologne Cluster of Excellence on Aging and Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD) is its central building block and has developed into the largest European centre for aging research since it was founded in 2007. By integrating innovative concepts from various disciplines at the UoC, which address the challenges of demographic change and the aging of our society, the intention is to advance new approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of age-related diseases and the promotion of healthy aging.

KPAs at the University of Cologne

KPAs are thematically defined research areas of high academic and/or societal relevance. They have substantial critical mass and are characterized by research at the highest international level.

Research within the KPAs is transdisciplinary and integrated into networks that create synergies – both within the university and with non-university partners (such as Max Planck Institutes).

KPA AGING Seed Funding Supports Four New Interdisciplinary Projects on Aging Research

To support new, interdisciplinary research projects, the KPA AGING launched a call for interdisciplinary seed funding grants in March 2026. These four projects were selected and will receive funding of up to €100,000 for a maximum of two years.

“Shaping individual trajectories to Alzheimer`s Disease by social orientation” by Bergami, Matteo (CECAD/Faculty of Medicine) and Dzwiza-Ohlsen, Erik N. (Husserl Archives/Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
“Parental meta-inflammatory determinants of intergenerational inheritance: how obese parents predispose the offspring for aging and disease” by Zaffagnini, Gabriele (Institute for Genetics/ Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences), Alejandre Alcázar, Miguel (Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine/ Faculty of Medicine), Meyer, David (Institute for Genome Stability in Aging and Disease/ Faculty of Medicine) and Groten, Tanja (Klinik und Poliklinik für Geburstmedizin/ Faculty of Medicine)
“Loneliness, Social Participation and Healthy Aging in Urban Neighborhoods -A Participatory Feasibility Study (URBAN-AGE)” by Skoetz, Nicole (Institute of Public Health/ Faculty of Medicine) and Ellwardt, Lea (Department of Sociology and Social Psychology/Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences)
As well as project by Corrado, Mauro (Institute for Genetics/ Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) and Frezza, Christian (Institute for Metabolomics in Ageing/ Faculty of Medicine) which aims to define when and where age-associated dysfunction emerges, how immune and metabolic decline are coupled, and whether tissue-specific signatures can reveal early, targetable aging trajectories before overt organismal failure develops, by combining longitudinal analysis across key organs with integrated profiling of immune and metabolic states.