Focus On: Tumor Senescence

Judith Campisi, Ph.D.
Professor
Buck Institute for Research on Aging

Judith Campisi received a PhD in biochemistry from the State University of New York Stony Brook, and postdoctoral training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. In 1984, she joined the Boston University Medical School faculty as Assistant and Associate Professor, then moved to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as Senior Scientist in 1991. In 2002, she started a second laboratory at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where she is Professor.  

At both institutions, Campisi established a broad program to understand the relationship between aging and disease, with an emphasis on how cellular senescence promotes inflammation, cancer and degenerative diseases. Her laboratory made pioneering discoveries in these areas, and continues to challenge and alter existing paradigms. She has several long-standing national and international collaborations, and mentors many students and fellows.  

Campisi received numerous awards, including MERIT awards from the National Institute on Aging, and awards from the AlliedSignal Corporation, Gerontological Society of America and American Federation for Aging Research, the Longevity prize from the IPSEN Foundation, and the first international Olav Thon Foundation prize. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for Cancer Research, and the US National Academy of Sciences. She serves on numerous national and international editorial and scientific advisory boards.  
 

Katherine Aird, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine

The Aird lab has two main areas of investigation: 1) mechanisms and pathological implications of cellular senescence; and 2) metabolic reprogramming during tumorigenesis in ovarian cancer and melanoma. More information can be found at: airdlab.com