Advancing Research
by funding Grant Programs and Fellowships
Driving Innovation
by guiding studies such as the FAST Initiative, the SuperAgers Initiative, and the TAME Trial
Furthering the Field
by supporting the infrastructure of three NIA Initiatives and leading the Amplifying Geroscience Initiative.
Top Breakthroughs driven by AFAR Experts
Delaying Disease by Targeting Aging
Saving Costs by Extending Healthspan
What are the Hallmarks of Aging?
What is Geroscience?
What is the Longevity Dividend?
The epigenome of a cell is the group of proteins that sits on the genome and ensures a cell is performing its role in the system. In the proposed research, Dr. Andreas Pfenning will test the idea that disrupting these epigenome proteins leads to overall brain aging. Dr. Pfenning’s laboratory will isolate a subtype of neuron particularly vulnerable to the aging process in older and younger mice. Within that population of cells, they will look for signature of age-dependent epigenetic decay by measuring the epigenetic and gene expression state. They will also look for signs that transcriptional differences can be driven by DNA damage using a mouse model of aging. The goal of this study it to provide insight into the basis mechanisms of aging in the brain and to lay the foundation for future experiments that link molecular mechanisms to neural circuits and cognition.
