University of Tennessee College of Social Work establishes Center for Pet Family Well-Being

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Social Work has launched the Center for Pet Family Well-Being (CPFW), marking a new chapter in the university’s leadership in interdisciplinary research and systems innovation.

Formerly known as the Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE), the center reflects the evolution of an eight-year initiative that has gained national recognition for advancing research, policy, and community-based solutions that strengthen families with pets.

“Families do not experience health, housing, transportation, and social systems in isolation,” said Michael Blackwell, DVM, MPH, founder of PPHE and the new center. “The Center for Pet Family Well-Being reflects our commitment to aligning these systems in ways that recognize pets as part of the family and essential to family and community resilience.”

Since its launch in 2017, PPHE has secured more than $12 million in competitive grant funding, produced nationally cited research on access to veterinary care, developed the AlignCare model for community-based veterinary access, and led multiple cross-sector collaborations addressing social and structural barriers affecting pet-inclusive families.

“The center designation recognizes the scope, maturity, and national impact of this work,” said Lori Messinger, Dean of the College of Social Work. “The Center for Pet Family Well-Being aligns directly with the college’s commitment to health equity, community engagement, and interdisciplinary research that enhances real-world solutions.”

The center will advance a One Health Systems framework, developed through PPHE’s foundational work. The framework expands traditional One Health thinking by integrating features of societies’ health, social, economic, and structural systems that shape pet-inclusive family well-being. The framework aligns four core system domains:

• Health and Well-Being
• Economic and Community Support
• Housing, Transportation, and Infrastructure
• Education, Policy, and Research

The center seeks to use coordinated, community-driven approaches to integrate and transform these fragmented care and social systems so they work together more effectively to strengthen and support pet-inclusive families and their communities nationwide.

Housed within the UT College of Social Work, CPFW will continue expanding its research portfolio, workforce development initiatives, and national dissemination platforms. Key initiatives include expanding the already rapidly growing One Health Community Forum, and launching the Journal of One Health Systems and the annual One Health Systems Summit, which is scheduled to begin October 2026 at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference.

The center is supported through 2029 by a major grant from Maddie’s Fund®, a national family foundation established by Dave and Cheryl Duffield to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals. The Center for Pet Family Well-Being will continue building a diversified funding portfolio that includes federal and foundation grants, training programs, and national convenings.

With this transition, the University of Tennessee strengthens its position as the emerging national hub for One Health Systems, advancing interdisciplinary research and community-engaged innovation that promotes equity and well-being for pet-inclusive families across the country.

 

Brain activity reveals how well we mentally size up others

University of Zurich

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How quickly do we perceive whether a person we are interacting with is clever or predictable? Be it in a game, a conversation or a negotiation, we constantly infer what others are thinking and size up their intentions, and we adjust our behavior accordingly in a process that scientists call “adaptive mentalization.” A new study by the University of Zurich now reveals how our brains govern this adaptation.

Differences in social mentalization

A team of researchers led by Christian Ruff, a professor of neuroeconomics and decision neuroscience at the University of Zurich, examined the behavior of over 570 people in different game situations. The study subjects played a repeated rock-paper-scissors game against human or artificial opponents. With the aid of a novel computational model, the researchers quantified how strategically the subjects sized up their respective opponents and how much they adapted their estimation of them after each round. The study found that most of the subjects reacted flexibly when the opponent’s behavior changed, but there was a wide range of reaction flexibility between the participants in the study. “Some can do that very quickly – they are often good at recognizing what strategy their opponents are employing. Others take much longer to correctly infer their opponent’s behavior,” Christian Ruff observes.

Social brain network becomes active

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers were able to identify a distributed network encompassing several regions of the brain that shows increased activity whenever subjects rethink their estimation of their opponent. The temporoparietal cortex, which plays a vital role in contemplating the thoughts and intentions of others, is particularly important here, as is the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which is involved in appraising social information. The anterior insula and adjacent areas of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex also exhibit a spike in activity, particularly when expectations turn out wrong and a reassessment becomes necessary. “In these moments, activity in those areas of the brain measurably changes,” explains Gökhan Aydogan, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich’s Department of Economics.

Social adaptation becomes predictable

What matters is that these activity patterns make it possible to predict how much a person adapts their estimation. “This prediction worked even with subjects whose brain data had not yet been added to the model,” Ruff says. The researchers thus speak of a neural fingerprint of adaptive mentalization. Prediction was successful with almost 90% of the study participants.
 

Previous research had examined social cognition mostly through static tasks such as short stories or single decisions. The new study, in contrast, utilized dynamic interactions that are more similar to those in everyday life. The study shows that mentalization is not a static state, but rather an ongoing adaptation process. “Our findings may help to apprehend social cognition abilities more objectively in the future,” Ruff says. This is particularly pertinent for neurological disorders such as autism or borderline personality disorder that hamper social interactions. “Neural markers of this kind may also help in the long run to evaluate and further develop therapies in a more targeted manner,” Ruff adds.

Literature

Niklas Buergi, Gökhan Aydogan, Arkady Konovalov, Christian C. Ruff. A neural fingerprint of adaptive mentalization. Nature Neuroscience. 9 March 2026. Doi: 10.1038/s41593-026-02219-x

Contact

Christian Ruff

Professor of Neuroeconomics and Decision Neuroscience

University of Zurich

Phone +41 44 634 50 67

E-mail: christian.ruff@econ.uzh.ch

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Journal

Nature Neuroscience

DOI

10.1038/s41593-026-02219-x 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A neural fingerprint of adaptive mentalization

Article Publication Date

9-Mar-2026

 

Online spaces can provide bodily comfort, relief and inclusion for some autistic people, study says

University of Exeter

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Online spaces can provide comfort, relief and inclusion for some autistic adults, and provide important means for expression and for connecting with others, a new study says.

Researchers say online communities – including communication apps, social media, and gaming platforms – can provide enriching, authentic and comfortable forms of self-expression and connection for some autistic adults, including a physical ease that is not always available in face-to-face settings.

The findings challenge assumptions that in-person interaction is always inherently preferable or superior for everyone, and could be useful for those helping to make online spaces more accessible.

Autistic adults who took part in the research said during face-to-face interactions they were constantly monitoring their body and movements, often leaving them feeling scrutinized and exhausted. But when socialising online they could feel physically more unburdened because they did not feel the need to monitor their body in the same way.

Participants were clear that online spaces are not problem-free. But relief from bodily scrutiny opened something up – they felt more free to express themselves and connect genuinely.

David Ekdahl, from Aarhus University, Denmark and Joel Krueger, from the University of Exeter, carried out the study. Dr Ekdahl undertook in-depth online interviews with 11 autistic adults living in North America and Europe as part of the study.

The study purposefully focused on interviews with autistic adults who were relatively experienced and comfortable users of the internet, and each participant could choose the form of communication for the interview they felt most comfortable with online.

Dr Ekdahl said: “In-person social situations often have unspoken rules and expectations most of us take for granted. These tend to favor certain body types and ways of communicating, leaving others at a disadvantage.

“In-person social situations routinely made participants feel self-conscious about their bodies, and worried about being misunderstood. Online spaces are not magical, but for the participants they provided a possible shelter from scrutiny, allowing them to direct their attention towards the interaction rather than on how they look or move. 

“Online spaces also allowed participants more freedom to decide when and how to interact. They could log off, mute others, or take breaks. This sense of agency or control was harder to come by in face-to-face settings.”

Professor Krueger said: “Our findings show in-person communication is not always more valuable. It can be noisy and busy, and autistic people can feel isolated and judged if their physical movements and communication styles are different.

“Online spaces allow for social flexibility, options to step back, and different ways to express oneself all of which might, for some autistic internet users, serve as important sources for connection and wellbeing.

“Instead of assuming online interactions lack value, and are less authentic, it is important to realise they can also be empowering and, for some, essential.”

 

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Journal

Autism in Adulthood

DOI

10.1177/25739581261422981 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

“In Real Life, Everything Feels so Different”: Autistic, Embodied Perspectives on Online Sociality

Article Publication Date

6-Mar-2026

 

COSMOS trial results show daily multivitamin use may slow biological aging

Mass General Brigham

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An analysis led by Mass General Brigham investigators found slower aging in older adults after two years of a daily multivitamin, with greater benefits for those who began the trial with accelerated biological age

How quickly our bodies age on a cellular level, our “biological age,” can differ from how old we actually are in years. Using data from a large randomized clinical trial of older adults, researchers at Mass General Brigham evaluated the effects of taking a daily multivitamin over the course of two years on five measures of biological aging and found a slowing equivalent to about four months of aging. The benefits were increased in those who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the trial. Their results are published in Nature Medicine.

“There is a lot of interest today in identifying ways to not just live longer, but to live better,” said senior author Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine. “It was exciting to see benefits of a multivitamin linked with markers of biological aging. This study opens the door to learning more about accessible, safe interventions that contribute to healthier, higher-quality aging.”

Epigenetic clocks estimate biological aging based on tiny changes in our DNA. These clocks look at specific sites in our DNA that regulate gene expression (known as DNA methylation) and change naturally as we get older, helping track with mortality and the pace of aging. This study, which uses data from the well-established COcoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS), analyzed DNA methylation data from blood samples of 958 randomly selected healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70.

The study participants were randomized to take a daily cocoa extract and multivitamin; daily cocoa extract and placebo; placebo and multivitamin; or placebos only. Samples were analyzed for changes in five epigenetic clocks from the start of the trial and at the end of the first and second years. Compared to the placebo only group, people in the multivitamin group had slowing in all five epigenetic clocks, including statistically significant slowing seen in the two clocks that are predictive of mortality. The changes equated to about four months less biological aging over the course of two years. Additionally, people who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the trial benefitted the most.

“We plan to do follow-up research to determine if the slowing of biological aging—observed through these five epigenetic clocks, and additional or new ones—persists after the trial ends,” said co-author and collaborator Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, director of Georgia Prention Institute, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta Univeristy.

Further studies are also needed to determine how improvements in biological aging may explain reductions in clinical outcomes. The COSMOS team plans to investigate how the effects of a daily multivitamin on biological aging may extend to different outcomes they have seen evidence of benefits for, such as improvements in cognition and reductions in cancer and cataracts.

“A lot of people take a multivitamin without necessarily knowing any benefits from taking it, so the more we can learn about its potential health benefits, the better,” said Sesso. “Within COSMOS, we are fortunate and excited to build upon a rich resource of biomarker data to test how two interventions may improve biological aging and reduce age-related clinical outcomes.”

Authorship: In addition to Sesso, Mass General Brigham authors include Sidong Li, Rikuta Hamaya, Alexandre C. Pereira, Kerry L. Ivey, Pamela M. Rist, and JoAnn E. Manson. Additional authors include Haidong Zhu, and Brian H. Chen.

Disclosures: Manson and Sesso received investigator-initiated grants from Mars Edge, a segment of Mars Incorporated dedicated to nutrition research and products, for infrastructure support and donation of COSMOS study pills and packaging, and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon) for donation of COSMOS study pills (Centrum Silver and placebo) and packaging during the conduct of the study. Sesso additionally reported receiving investigator-initiated grants from Haleon, FOXO Technologies, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Pure Encapsulations, and American Pistachio Growers, and honoraria and/or travel for lectures from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, BASF, Haleon, and NIH during the conduct of the study. Rist has received in-kind support (specifically donations of study pills and packaging) from Mars Edge to be used in an NIH-funded, investigator-initiated trial (U01 AT012611). Chen was formerly an employee of FOXO Technologies, who provided in-kind donations to generate and pre-process the DNA methylation data. Charitable donations made possible by Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center Foundation provided salary support for Chen. Li received the EPI Early Career Travel Grant sponsored by the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention's Early Career Committee, American Heart Association.

Funding: This work is funded by the National Institutes of Health (HL157665). The COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) is supported by an investigator-initiated grant from Mars Edge, a segment of Mars dedicated to nutrition research and products, which included infrastructure support and the donation of study pills and packaging. Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon) provided support through the partial provision of study pills (Centrum Silver and placebo) and packaging. COSMOS is also supported in part by grants AG050657, AG071611, and EY025623 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. Neither company had a role in the trial design or conduct, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation or review. Additional investigator-initiated support for this work was also from investigator-initiated grants to HDS from both FOXO Technologies and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. Charitable donations made possible by Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center Foundation provided salary support for Chen.

Paper cited: Li S et al. “Effect of Daily Multivitamin-Mineral and Cocoa Extract Supplementation on Epigenetic Clocks of Biological Aging: 2-Year Findings from the COSMOS Randomized Clinical Trial” Nature Medicine DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04239-3

About Mass General Brigham

Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic health care system, uniting great minds to solve the hardest problems in medicine for our communities and the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a nonprofit organization committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations with several Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org.

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Journal

Nature Medicine

DOI

10.1038/s41591-026-04239-3 

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Effect of Daily Multivitamin-Mineral and Cocoa Extract Supplementation on Epigenetic Clocks of Biological Aging: 2-Year Findings from the COSMOS Randomized Clinical Trial

Article Publication Date

9-Mar-2026

COI Statement

Manson and Sesso received investigator-initiated grants from Mars Edge, a segment of Mars Incorporated dedicated to nutrition research and products, for infrastructure support and donation of COSMOS study pills and packaging, and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon) for donation of COSMOS study pills (Centrum Silver and placebo) and packaging during the conduct of the study. Sesso additionally reported receiving investigator-initiated grants from Haleon, FOXO Technologies, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Pure Encapsulations, and American Pistachio Growers, and honoraria and/or travel for lectures from the Council for Responsible Nutrition, BASF, Haleon, and NIH during the conduct of the study. Rist has received in-kind support (specifically donations of study pills and packaging) from Mars Edge to be used in an NIH-funded, investigator-initiated trial (U01 AT012611). Chen was formerly an employee of FOXO Technologies, who provided in-kind donations to generate and pre-process the DNA methylation data. Charitable donations made possible by Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center Foundation provided salary support for Chen. Li received the EPI Early Career Travel Grant sponsored by the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention's Early Career Committee, American Heart Association.