Texas A&M University–San Antonio is partnering with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) on a $200,000 research grant. The collaborative initiative aims to better understand and strengthen resilience among South Side residents as they age.
The San Antonio Medical Foundation (SAMF) grant supports the Building Resilience in South Side Midlife project, jointly led by co-investigators Hector Garcia, an assistant professor in the Department Health and Behavioral Sciences, and Chia Hsu, an assistant professor at the UTSA.
The project is focused on strengthening and measuring resilience among South San Antonio adults ages 40-65. Garcia and Hsu will look at how midlife research participants living on the South Side cope with their health in terms of their level of physical activity, education and social connection, and psychological, functional, and biological adaptability.
According to Garcia, social relationships are especially critical because they can buffer stress-related responses and support recovery.
“We know a great deal about what makes people sick, but considerably less about what makes them resilient,” he said. “Our research shifts the focus from understanding vulnerability to identifying the factors that help people withstand adversity, recover from stress, and maintain their health.”
He added that he and Hsu are particularly interested in adults ages 40-65 because middle adulthood represents a critical window for prevention, when interventions may still influence the trajectory of aging before chronic disease becomes established.
Garcia said the SAMF grant gives A&M-San Antonio and UTSA an opportunity to expand their research capacity, strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships, and engage students in meaningful scientific research toward addressing community needs.
The initiative will involve noninvasive saliva samples alongside psychological and functional assessments, which Garcia said could help him and fellow researchers better understand how biology, behavior, and social relationships contribute to resilience in everyday life.
“Our intention is for this project to be the beginning of a sustained research program in resilience and healthy aging. The partnerships, research infrastructure, and preliminary findings will provide a foundation for larger studies and future federal research funding,” he said.
The SAMF, a nonprofit public charity, is awarding $1.2 million in grants to support six collaborative research and community health initiatives involving institutions across San Antonio and South Texas. Richard Perez, the medical foundation’s president, said his organization appreciates how a partnership such as the one between A&M-San Antonio and UTSA can benefit the health outcomes of residents in San Antonio and beyond.
“These grants provide resources that allow our institutions to combine their expertise, pursue innovative ideas and build partnerships that can have a meaningful and lasting impact on healthcare in San Antonio and South Texas,” Perez said in a statement.
The University has forged many other impactful collaborations, including a recent partnership with the Texas A&M Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine and University Health, which has opened the Vida clinic next to campus and will open the neighboring Palo Alto Hospital in 2027.
The agreement will bring College of Medicine students and faculty into A&M-San Antonio’s new Public Health and Education Building, providing classroom and office space to support medical education and training. The collaboration is expanding healthcare education and access to medical services in South San Antonio and aims to train and retain more physicians to serve Bexar County’s rapidly growing population.
Garcia said A&M-San Antonio is positioned to link scientific research with the needs of South Side communities and engage local populations that have been historically underrepresented in health research and comprehensive healthcare.
“South Side residents face significant health challenges, including high rates of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease,” he said. “Addressing these disparities requires not only improved access to healthcare but also greater emphasis on prevention.
“We want this research to lead to practical ways of helping people, especially those on the South Side, stay healthy as they age.”