How dog DNA is helping scientists understand the aging process

McCoy joined ASU’s Molecular and Cellular Biology program in 2020, and her doctoral work found its home in the lab of Noah Snyder-Mackler, one of the principal investigators for the Dog Aging Project—a massive, nationwide study tracking the lives, health and aging patterns of thousands of companion dogs. McCoy was immediately drawn to the project. “It just made so much sense. Dogs live with us, eat with us, age with us. They’re exposed to the same environments, and they develop similar diseases.”