What inspired you to pursue aging research?
Aging appears to be the biggest risk factor for various neurodegenerative diseases, which lacks effective therapeutics. Motivated by seeking cures for neurodegenerative diseases, I became interested in pursuing aging research.
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 aging research is highly valuable and meaningful, and more research efforts are in demand for the aging research field. For me, receiving an AFAR grant means that I am pursuing the right career path, and most importantly, it is an encouragement for me to keep pursuing this aging study as my career path.
What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
Providing a therapeutic strategy for treating neurovegetative diseases is my research’s potential impact. By fixing the brain recycling system, I believe that aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases can be ameliorated.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
Multiple systems that are critical for maintaining brain function deteriorate during aging, leading to neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, the brain's waste recycling system often malfunctions in these conditions. To better understand what goes wrong in the brain’s natural waste cleanup system as we age or develop age-related brain diseases, I developed a new tool that tracks this process in lab-grown human brain cells derived from skin cells. I am interested in investigating how this cleanup system functions differently in older brain cells and testing whether its capacity can be renewed with drugs to help restore cellular balance and promote brain health. This research aims to identify new strategies to support healthy brain aging and treat age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
