Center for Cardiovascular and Muscular Diseases CCMD
Distinguished Cardiovascular and Muscular Diseases Seminar Series
Speaker
Malene Hansen, PhD
Professor, Buck Institute for Research on Aging
The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Seminar Abstract: The cytosolic recycling process of autophagy plays an important role in many age-related diseases and has been directly linked to aging, including in the nematode C. elegans where autophagy appears beneficially induced in many conserved longevity models. As a critical process to ensure cellular homeostasis, autophagy is regulated at multiple levels, yet it remains a challenge in the field to understand how the regulation of autophagy is integrated at the cellular and molecular level to ensure health- and lifespan benefits. I will here discuss our progress on understanding the different molecular mechanisms employed by cells and organisms to regulate autophagy genes in response to stressors such as aging and disease.