A new research paper was published in volume 18 of Aging-USA on April 24, 2026, entitled “The BHARAT study: a multi-modal, multi-omics research of aging signatures in the Indian population”.
The study was led by first author Suramya Asthana and corresponding author Deepak Kumar Saini from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The authors present the BHARAT Study (Biomarkers of Healthy Aging, Resilience, Adversity and Transitions), India’s first large-scale discovery-driven multi-homics cohort focused on understanding biological aging in the Indian population.
The initiative was developed to address a significant gap in aging research, as most existing biological age models and aging datasets have come primarily from Western populations.
The BHARAT study is a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational cohort integrating clinical, molecular, lifestyle, and environmental data from participants from diverse demographic groups in India.
The initiative aims to enroll healthy volunteers spanning multiple age groups, with balanced rural-urban and gender representation. Biological samples—including blood, urine, feces, cheek swabs, and hair—will be subjected to extensive multi-omics profiling, including epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, metagenomics, and immune phenotyping.
“By generating interoperable, high-resolution data suitable for mechanistic modeling and machine learning, BHARAT contributes a globally relevant resource capable of improving universal models of aging biology while uncovering novel, population-specific pathways that inform prevention and intervention strategies.”
The initiative uses a hub-and-spoke framework centered on the Indian Institute of Science, which serves as a central hub for biobanking, multi-omics analysis, computational integration and AI-based modeling. Clinical and community partners across India are contributing to participant recruitment, clinical assessments and biological sampling, enabling the study to capture the country’s extraordinary genetic, environmental, nutritional and socioeconomic diversity.
A major focus of the study is the development of population biological aging signatures and prognostic models tailored to Indian populations. Researchers aim to identify biomarkers associated with resilience, frailty and age-related decline, while recalibrating biological clocks that may not accurately reflect aging trajectories in non-Western populations. The study further seeks to create standardized reference datasets and create scalable infrastructure for future longitudinal aging research in India.
Importantly, the BHARAT study combines untargeted discovery-based omics technologies with advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches. By integrating molecular data with clinical and lifestyle information, the initiative aims to improve understanding of how biological aging is shaped by genetics, environment, diet, infection burden and social determinants of health.
Taken together, this study creates a comprehensive framework for research on aging in one of the world’s most diverse populations. By creating large-scale, population-specific biological datasets, the BHARAT initiative can help advance precision aging research, improve risk prediction models, and support the development of more personalized approaches to healthy aging and disease prevention.
Source:
Journal Reference:
Asthana, S., et al (2026). The BHARAT study: a multimodal, multiple ohmic investigation of aging signatures in the Indian population. Aging-USA. DOI: 10.18632/aging.206373. https://www.aging-us.com/article/206373/text.
