Enhancing Innate Anti-Viral Resistance Through A Community-Based Intervention - Generation Xchange (GenX)

September 4, 2026 updated by: Steve Cole, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
This randomized controlled trial will test whether a recently developed community-based intergenerational mentoring program known as Generation Xchange (GenX) can enhance antiviral resistance in older African-American women and men in a low-SES urban community. Additional studies will identify the biological processes that promote resistance to respiratory virus infections and viral disease in older African-American women and men.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This randomized controlled intervention trial (planned n=160) will test whether participation in the Generation Xchange (GenX) intergenerational mentoring program can reduces vulnerability to respiratory virus infections (COVID, influenzas, colds), increase antiviral immune activity (Type I interferon responses), and reduce inflammatory immune activity in older African-American women and men living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged urban community. Blood samples will also be collected to determine which biological factors are most important in protecting older African-Americans from respiratory virus infection, and which of those factors is affected by the GenX intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
160

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
        • UCLA School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participating in the GenX intergenerational mentoring program
  • All GenX mentors > 50 years of age are eligible to participate in this research
  • GenX program participation requires:
  • Reside in neighborhood of GenX schools (South-Central Los Angeles)
  • Pass basic literacy and cognitive function tests

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any health condition that would put participant at risk by enrollment/participation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Immediate GenX
Participants immediately commence GenX program activity (intergenerational mentoring)
Behavioral: GenX intergenerational mentoring program
GenX trains older adults to collaborate with K-3rd grade teachers in mentoring high-need elementary school students in core reading and math skills.
Other Names:
  • GenX
Active Comparator: Delayed GenX
Participants engage in parallel training/educational activities, and subsequently commence GenX program activity after 3 months
Behavioral: GenX intergenerational mentoring program
GenX trains older adults to collaborate with K-3rd grade teachers in mentoring high-need elementary school students in core reading and math skills.
Other Names:
  • GenX

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Concentration of Type I interferon antiviral activity (bioassay International Units / mL)
Time Frame: 10 months
Blood cell production of Type I interferon activity will stimulated by exposure to a fixed dose of model viral protein (TruCulture Resiquimod R848 tubes) and quantifying Type I interferon concentration in the cell culture supernatant fluid using the standard Armstrong bioassay (Armstrong, J.A. Cytopathic effect inhibition assay for interferon: microculture plate assay. Methods in enzymology 78, 381-387 (1981).) Antiviral activity is quantified as International Units of Interferon activity / mL.
10 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Respiratory virus antibody concentration (WHO international units BAU/mL)
Time Frame: 10 months
Respiratory virus infection (cold, influenza, COVID) will be assessed by multiplex IgG serological assay (MesoScale Discovery V-PLEX COVID-19 Respiratory Panel 2; https://www.mesoscale.com/products/covid-19-respiratory-panel-2-igg-k15372u/). Concentrations are quantified as WHO international Binding Antibody Units / mL.
10 months
Pro-inflammatory cytokine concentration (pg/mL)
Time Frame: 10 months
Blood plasma and blood cell culture supernatant fluids will be assayed for expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL1B, IL6, TNF) using the MesoScale Discovery U-PLEX Macrophage M1 Combo 1 hu assay (https://www.mesoscale.com/products/u-plex-macrophage-m1-combo-1-human-k15336k/). Measurement units are pg of cytokine / mL.
10 months

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Antiviral cell prevalence
Time Frame: 10 months
Levels of key antiviral immune cells (e.g., dendritic cells, CD8+ T cells, etc.) will be assessed in blood samples by flow cytometry
10 months
Antiviral gene regulation
Time Frame: 10 months
Activity of antiviral genes (RNA) and transcription factors will be assessed in blood cells
10 months
Well-being
Time Frame: 10 months
Surveys will measure eudaimonic well-being and hedonic well-being
10 months
Loneliness
Time Frame: 10 months
Surveys will measure loneliness, social isolation, and social support
10 months
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: 10 months
Surveys will measure symptoms of depression
10 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Steven Cole, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine & Psychiatry
  • Principal Investigator: Teresa E Seeman, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 26, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 31, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 6, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 9, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 21-001388
  • R01AG073053 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No IPD will be shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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