LOS ANGELES (Feb. 17, 2026) — The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging have awarded a multi-institutional research team led by investigators in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai $7.5 million to further study how damage to tiny blood vessels contributes to heart disease, cognitive decline and frailty as women age.
The new, five-year grant to examine sex-based differences in multiple age-related diseases supports the Microvascular Aging Effects—Women’s Evaluation of Systemic Aging Tenacity in Heart, Brain and Frailty study, commonly called MAE-WEST HBF. The acronym is a nod to the late actor, who reportedly once said, “You’re never too old to become younger.”
MAE-WEST HBF builds on prior research from Cedars-Sinai’s Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center that showed small blood vessel disease, chronic inflammation and iron buildup in women are linked to impaired heart, brain and kidney function, and declining physical strength.
“Armed with this funding, we are eager to continue uncovering biological mechanisms behind sex-based differences in aging and heart health,” said C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, the principal investigator of MAE-WEST HBF and director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center in the Smidt Heart Institute. “A better understanding of the causes of common age-related conditions in women could lead to more effective prevention and treatment strategies.”
For more than two decades, Bairey Merz and her team have made landmark discoveries in women’s heart health, particularly in coronary microvascular disease—a condition that occurs more often in women and results from damage to the heart’s smallest blood vessels. Symptoms of the condition, which can be subtle, were previously often dismissed, misdiagnosed or undertreated. But improved diagnostic tools and treatments resulting from Bairey Merz’s discoveries have contributed to significant reductions in cardiovascular deaths among women.
The new study brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts, including Pascal Sati, PhD, director of the Neuroimaging Program in the Department of Neurology at Cedars Sinai. Collaborators at UCLA will oversee biostatistical analysis, while those at the University of Texas at Arlington will lead frailty research.
“We now have effective treatments for small vessel dysfunction in the heart,” Bairey Merz said. “If we can better understand its effects on the brain and musculoskeletal system, we may be able to find ways to prevent or slow multiple age-related diseases—including declines in cognition and mobility—in both women and men.”
Although women generally live longer than men do, women experience higher rates of chronic conditions and so spend more years in poor health. Ultimately, investigators hope the new study will pave the way for a future in which healthy aging for women includes earlier screenings, advanced technology, and preventive care that identifies risks and stops diseases before they begin.
“After more than 25 years of progress in women’s cardiovascular research, this grant helps advance whole-person care that supports heart health, brain function and physical strength,” said Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, executive director of the Smidt Heart Institute. “All three are equally essential to healthy aging.”
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