Abstract

This Larry L. Hillblom Foundation research Network will investigate the mechanisms that keep aged and tissue-damaging cells alive, with a view to developing new strategies to kill those cells and so promote healthy aging and suppress disease. The Network brings together three senior investigators at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, CA. Prof. Peter Adams is an expert in cell senescence, a characteristic response of cells to stress. Senescent cells accumulate in aged tissues and, over time, can damage tissues and cause diseases of aging. Prof. Malene Hansen is an expert in molecular mechanisms of aging, and in particular on the role of the process of autophagy. Autophagy is a cellular recycling mechanism by which damaged or superfluous parts of cells are effectively removed. Accordingly, autophagy is an important mechanism by which cells stay healthy. Prof. Nicholas Cosford is a chemical biologist, and an expert in the discovery of candidate drugs for further refinement into disease therapies. Through this Network, Adams, Hansen and Cosford will work together to understand how autophagy regulates senescent cells, as well as to identify candidate drugs and drug targets to kill senescent cells, and thereby promote healthy aging.