What inspired you to pursue aging research?
I work in chronic human disease, and age has always been an important covariate to consider. However, my launch into aging research was serendipitous, inspired by the observation of certain immune cell states in multi-tissue data I was analyzing, all derived from older adults. What are these immune cells doing in seemingly non-pathological tissue and do they have a role in maintaining tissue integrity with age? These questions motivated my current AFAR-funded project where I will investigate these immune cell states with age within diverse tissue contexts.
In your view, what does AFAR mean to the field, and what does it mean, for you, to receive an AFAR grant now?
AFAR is an important catalyst for bringing early-stage and new investigators to the field of aging research when they have a potentially transformative idea without extensive preliminary data. I am grateful to their support at this stage when I am launching my research career in aging science. To me, the award is an acknowledgment from an established review panel that my proposed research has the potential to influence aging research.
What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
My proposal tackles the fundamental question of tissue “inflammaging” and seeks to identify potential nodes of intervention for tuning chronic inflammation associated with aging and promoting tissue regeneration. If successful, we can seek ways to enhance or deplete specific gene expression or regulatory programs in a tissue-specific manner to achieve desired outcomes for healthy tissue aging.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
As we age, our bodies begin to lose physiological resilience – the ability to bounce back after an injury or illness. An important factor underlying physiological resilience is the capacity of individual tissues to heal and stay healthy or maintain “tissue integrity.” Understanding the biology of how tissues maintain integrity would also help understand what mechanisms slow or break down with age. I study the role of immune cells in maintaining such tissue integrity, and how aging impacts their function.
