University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Larry L. Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging

Research Area
Aging

Grant Type
Center

Year
2008

Abstract

The University of California at San Francisco has many excellent laboratories studying aging and age-related disease, but they are not all located close to one another. The UCSF Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging brings together members of these laboratories; that is, laboratories interested in the basic biology of aging, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes and cancer. In addition, it fosters the education of the next generation of scientists in these areas.

The UCSF Hillblom Center supports three graduate students, each studying biological pathways that can delay aging and extend lifespan or influence the course of age-related disease. UCSF students undergo a competitive selection process to become UCSF Hillblom Graduate Fellows. The Center sponsors a lively weekly journal club on the Biology of Aging, as well as an annual symposium, called “From Molecules to Medicine” in which Hillblom Center faculty members give talks about their research. The Hillblom Graduate Fellows also attend the journal club and the symposium, where they present interesting new research papers and posters about their work. The Center is directed by Professor Cynthia Kenyon. Prof. Kenyon is an American Cancer Society Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and she is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.