Our Impact
Our impact on human health
By better understanding the fundamental processes of life, we can find innovative approaches for more effective treatments and cures. Explore the human health impact of our research below — from memory loss and cancer, to infertility, aging and more.
Stowers Impact
Founded on the remarkable vision and generosity of Jim and Virginia Stowers, the Institute has spent more than 25 years pursuing an audacious goal: uncover the secrets of life and follow discovery wherever it leads.
Stowers scientists are free to pursue the big, bold questions in biology — the kind of curiosity-driven research that can transform what we know about life and disease. The answers we find are opening new possibilities to reshape the future of human health.
Cancer
Why does a healthy cell mutate into a cancer cell? We study the fundamental breakdown of what happens when cells stop following the rules, causing cancers like leukemia and colon cancer. By comparing healthy cells to cancerous ones, our discoveries are helping to reveal how cancer starts, identify possible drug targets, and improve early detection methods.
Neurodegeneration, Memory, and Brain Function
How do the billions of neurons in our brain form the connections that make us who we are? We're discovering that the same proteins that allow us to form memories are linked to the breakdown seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Our research is uncovering insights that apply to multiple diseases, uncovering early triggers, with long-term therapeutic potential.
Aging
What if aging doesn't have to mean decline? Our research impacts the fundamental causes of how different organisms age — or don't age at all and has already produced real-world results. One discovery led to Evenity, a breakthrough treatment that reverses bone loss in patients with osteoporosis. By studying everything from hearing loss to inflammation-related aging, we're learning that many "inevitable" parts of aging have the potential to be slowed, stopped, or even reversed.
Infertility and Women's Health
Infertility affects about one in six people worldwide — and we're uncovering the biological reasons why. Our research explores how eggs and sperm form, how cells acquire the right number of chromosomes, and how reproductive aging changes cells over time. We're also uncovering "selfish genes" that favor their own survival over healthy offspring. These insights are helping guide better, more personalized fertility treatments and offering new clues for future research on reproductive aging, menopause, and ovarian health.
Infectious Diseases
How do viruses like Zika and dengue outsmart our immune systems? Viruses, bacteria, and other microbes can hijack our cells — using them to replicate while evading detection. By studying exactly how these pathogens infect our bodies, we're identifying new, safer targets for treatments and uncovering ways to stop infections before they take hold.
Hearing and Vision Loss
Losing your hearing or vision is permanent for humans — but not for fish, frogs, or snails. We are studying how these animals naturally regenerate sensory cells in the eye and ear to identify biological switches that we could one day flip to restore sight and hearing in humans. Understanding how regeneration works in other species may be the key to unlocking similar regenerative abilities in ourselves.
Gut Health
The gut completely replaces itself every week, yet it remains a place where much can go wrong. Powered by special intestinal cells, this constant renewal is essential for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, and keeping harmful bacteria out. We're discovering how our bodies orchestrate this remarkable process — and what goes wrong when it breaks down, leading to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. Each discovery moves us measurably closer to new strategies for prevention and treatment.
Congenital Conditions
In the first weeks after conception, a single cell becomes billions, organizing into the tissues, organs, and structures of a human body. When something goes wrong during this critical window, it can result in congenital conditions like Down syndrome. Our research is uncovering the causes of these early disruptions — and opening new possibilities for treatment and prevention.
What if...
Understanding life today saves lives tomorrow?
All around us, the natural world holds clues to how life works and what goes wrong as disease unfolds. The most profound insights often come from unexpected places, and those discoveries could help close the gap between today’s science and tomorrow’s cures.
Go inside the minds of our scientists as they ask, "What if...?" in our new storytelling series.
Media Inquiries
If you’d like to publish a story about Stowers research, or would like access to our scientists for expert perspectives or panels, please connect with our media relations team.
