Oscar Vivas, PhD

What inspired you to pursue aging research?

I was inspired by the potential impact of aging research on our society. A big scientific challenge in modern times is alleviating health issues that include obesity, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases. Aging is the leading risk factor for all of these diseases, making the study of aging of paramount importance. I am driven by the challenge to understand how aging leads to the deterioration of multiple systems, resulting in disorders that affect the elderly population.

In your view, what does AFAR mean to the field, and what does it mean, for you, to receive an AFAR grant now?

AFAR means the coordinating center of a cohesive group of aging enthusiasts. Receiving an AFAR grant feels like a welcoming greeting to this group, an open door, a supportive network of leaders that fosters young scientists' talent. Receiving an AFAR grant in the early stage of my career sets the cornerstone to raise my scientific research program, knowing that this group wants to see the program succeed.

Is there an AFAR grantee or researcher in the field whose work excites you or inspires your research?

I am fortunate to launch my research program at an Institution with a robust Aging Research program with leaders that include Peter Rabinovitch, Matt Kaeberlein, Daniel Promislow, and George M. Martin. They welcome young scientists interested in the field and are invested in our success.

What’s exciting about your research’s potential impact?

It is exciting to think that aging can be treated as a single process, despite its relation with multiple diseases. Comorbidity is a common characteristic of aging. But why multiple organs fail concomitantly is puzzling. We think that the alteration of the organ control by the autonomic nervous system can be a unifying mechanism that leads to the deterioration of multiple organs. Moreover, organ control modulation by the autonomic nervous system has been recently recognized as a powerful target to treat common age-related conditions. Proof of that was the NIH common fund SPARC launching – Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions, created to propel the anatomical and functional mapping of the autonomic nervous system and the development of tools to measure and manipulated nerve-organ communication. Our research aims to generate large-scale proteomics data of aging autonomic neurons, thereby providing a valuable tool for studying the molecular mechanisms that underlie the age-related dysfunction of these cells. Our research will potentially lead to the design of treatments that target the function of autonomic neurons, maintaining appropriate cellular communication between the nervous system and visceral organs as we age.

Has COVID-19 reinforced your passion for aging research?

Absolutely. COVID-19 severity increases with age, but why? The cellular mechanisms used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect the host remain unknown. The cell types affected by the virus remain a mystery—many unanswered questions. Despite this uncertainty, COVID-19 has renewed the idea that aging is the leading risk factor for multiple diseases. Hence, understanding the biology of aging and finding treatments to improve a healthier life is a priority of the scientific society. It would be a privilege to contribute to appease this pandemic.

AFAR will turn 40 in 2021. What’s your vision for the next 40 years of healthy aging? How do you hope aging research can transform on our lives in the decades to come?

In the next decade, I envision the discovery of treatments that promote healthy aging. Current studies testing drugs like mTOR inhibitors and Metformin will be valuable in advancing the field. In the next phase, I predict that the research aiming at understanding the molecular and cellular targets of these anti-aging drugs will unravel the pathways that are most affected by aging. Moreover, evaluating the effect of these drugs at different time points will hopefully help in defining markers of the early stages of aging.