What inspired you to pursue aging research?
Aging research raises a wide variety of fascinating questions. Why do we age? What are the biological mechanisms that influence how we age? How can we slow aging? How can we improve quality of life throughout the lifespan? These questions can be addressed by scientists working across many different disciplines: my own research interests in imaging inflammatory signaling pathways in the aging brain can be complemented by the work of researchers in physics, chemistry, cell biology, immunology, and neuroscience. As I embark on my own research into brain aging, I am motivated by the many opportunities to interact and collaborate with world-class scientists working in this area. I am truly inspired by the enormous potential of this field to translate basic research into real-world impact.
In your view, what does AFAR mean to the field, and what does it mean, for you, to receive an AFAR grant now?
AFAR has a strong track-record of backing pioneering research in the biology of aging. AFAR does this not only by funding scientists already working in this area, but also through support mechanisms that allow top scientists to enter the field. This approach is critical: advancing the science of aging requires interdisciplinary research and collaboration. As a scientist working across the disciplines of biophysics, biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, microscopy, immunology, and neuroscience, the AFAR postdoctoral fellowship provides me with unparalleled opportunities to address central questions in the biology of aging.
What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
The innate immune system plays a central role in biology, health, and disease. However, scientists are only now beginning to develop the molecular tools that can reveal precisely how inflammation drives the aging of our bodies and our brains. My research harnesses cutting-edge techniques from protein engineering, microscopy, molecular biology, and neuroscience to advance our understanding of how the innate immune system is activated and drives brain aging. Filling the gaps in our knowledge means potentially discovering new ways to keep our brains youthful and healthy for longer over the course of our lives.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
Inflammation is a hallmark of aging. Brain inflammation, in particular, causes cognitive deficits associated with brain aging and age-related illnesses, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Despite the known role of inflammation in aging, or “inflammaging”, the key biological mechanisms driving neuroinflammation and brain aging remain unclear. However, if we could visualize inflammation in the brain during aging, then we could watch and understand how neuroinflammation drives brain aging and neurodegeneration. I am working to develop the bioimaging technologies needed to allow us to watch inflammatory signaling in brain cells during aging. My research can expand our understanding of brain aging and support new ways of combatting age-related diseases.
