Test of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs (TRIAD): study design and rationale for a prospective, parallel-group, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of rapamycin in healthy middle-aged dogs from the Dog Aging Project

Coleman AE, Creevy KE, Kaeberlein M · 2025 · GeroScience · Atlas ID COL2025

What this study shows

Design and rationale paper (protocol), NOT results. TRIAD is a double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial testing whether rapamycin prolongs lifespan and improves healthspan measures in healthy middle-aged dogs from the Dog Aging Project. Its authors describe it as the first rigorous test of a drug against biological aging with lifespan and healthspan endpoints performed outside the laboratory in any species. Planned size is 580 dogs with 3 years of treatment (NIH-funded, per Texas A&M announcement; 170 dogs enrolled at that time). No efficacy or safety results exist yet, so this must not be cited as evidence of benefit.

Abstract

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Companion dogs are a powerful model for aging research given their morphologic and genetic variability, risk for age-related disease, and habitation of the human environment. In addition, the shorter life expectancy of dogs compared to human beings provides a unique opportunity for an accelerated timeline to test interventions that might extend healthy lifespan.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	RT Registered trial, no results yet This is a registered clinical trial with no results reported yet. There is no evidence code until results are published -- registration alone is not evidence of an effect.
Study type	Registered Trial
Model system	Companion dogs, RCT (ongoing, Dog Aging Project, middle-aged healthy dogs)
Journal	GeroScience
Year	2025
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1007/s11357-024-01484-7 · PMID 39951177 · Free full text (PMC12181551)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Rapamycin vs placebo, planned 3-year treatment
Target	mTOR
Model	Companion dogs - RCT (design paper, ongoing, no results yet)
Effect	No results yet - first placebo-controlled lifespan trial of rapamycin outside the lab (dogs)

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

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Coleman, A. E., Creevy, K. E., & Kaeberlein, M. (2025). Test of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs (TRIAD): study design and rationale for a prospective, parallel-group, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of rapamycin in healthy middle-aged dogs from the Dog Aging Project. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01484-7

@article{COL2025,
  author       = {Coleman, A. E. and Creevy, K. E. and Kaeberlein, M.},
  title        = {{Test of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs (TRIAD): study design and rationale for a prospective, parallel-group, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of rapamycin in healthy middle-aged dogs from the Dog Aging Project}},
  journal      = {GeroScience},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {10.1007/s11357-024-01484-7},
  note         = {PMID: 39951177},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record COL2025) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/COL2025/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_COL2025,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record COL2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/COL2025/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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