What inspired you to pursue aging research?
One key motivation for me is understanding how to maintain good health and cognitive function due to the growing aging population in many parts of the world.
In your view, what does AFAR mean to the field, and what does it mean, for you, to receive an AFAR grant now?
The core significance of AFAR to the field is encapsulated in its mission, which aims to provide support and advancement to the field of healthy aging through biomedical research. This grant would enable me to conduct studies that aim to improve our understanding of the aging process and develop strategies for promoting healthier aging.
What is exciting about your research’s potential impact?
Ultimately, these studies will have significant translational potential, identifying HNF4-a as a master regulator of a liver-to-brain rejuvenation axis whose targeted activation can confer the benefits of exercise on regenerative and cognitive function at old age.
How would you describe your research to a non-scientist?
The aging population is growing, and people are interested in finding new treatments to improve brain function as people get older. Systemic interventions such as phisical exercise can inmprove cognition in aged animals, and also promote cognitive benefits in the elderly. When older animals exercise, their livers release certain factors into the blood. These factors help the brain work better, and this may happen through a connection between the liver and the brain. In my initial analysis, I found a key player called the transcription factor HNF4-a. This is a major player in controlling how the liver works. The more active HNF4-a is in the liver, the better the older animal's brain works after exercising. This project is focused on determining how making this transcription factor more active in the liver can restore cognition in older animals.
