Aging research funding

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Hi All,

Aging research funding and directions are presented in the below.

Cheers, Al Pater.

-------- Ursprungligt meddelande --------

Ämne: Aging Research Lab Funded

Datum: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:55:10 EST

Medical News Today

Philanthropist F Glenn Launches Labs for Aging Research at

Harvard Medical School

12 Mar 2005

Five Year, Five Million Dollar Commitment With Goal of Leveraging

Larger Initiative -

Seeking to accelerate the pace of research into the molecular

mechanisms

that govern aging, philanthropist F. Glenn, an alumnus of Harvard

Law School and founder of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research in

Santa Barbara, California, has committed $5 million to Harvard Medical

School over five years to launch the F. Glenn Laboratories for

the

Biological Mechanisms of Aging. The new resources will serve as a

magnet

to attract additional support for the potential creation of a larger

Institute for Aging Research at Harvard Medical School.

*Video interview with researcher Sinclair, PhD

<http://www.hms.harvard.edu/news/Sinclair_Resver.mov>

" We are proud to be teaming up with Mr. Glenn and the Glenn

Foundation, "

said HMS aging researcher Sinclair, PhD, associate professor of

pathology, who will direct the lab. " Like us, is dedicated to

finding the molecular answers to the aging process so we can

understand

the mechanisms of normal aging and develop interventions to delay its

onset and decline, thereby extending the healthful years of human

life. "

To attract talented investigators to this field and the Glenn

Laboratories, a significant portion of the resources will be used to

recruit two additional faculty members focused on aging research and

to

build out the labs with advanced research technology and animal

models.

Additionally, research pilot grants will be awarded by a steering

committee to investigators wanting to investigate novel areas of

molecular research addressing critical questions in the normal aging

process. These pilot grants will produce data that can be used to

attract larger government grants. The resources will also be used to

foster collaboration by pulling together aging researchers from around

the world for an annual F. Glenn Symposium on the Molecular

Biology

of Aging to be held at Harvard Medical School.

" We structured this partnership in a way that recognizes the key

drivers

in the scientific process, so that the resources would be positioned

to

push aging research forward more quickly and to new levels of

knowledge, " said Mr. Glenn.

" In pursuing the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the aging

process, the Glenn Laboratories will be supporting the broad mission

of

the school, " said s, MD, PhD, Dean for Basic Sciences and

Graduate Studies. " The school and the Glenn Laboratories research team

thank Mr. Glenn and the Glenn Foundation for their leadership in this

area of science. "

Research into extending lifespan is not new. For more than 70 years, a

calorie restricted diet has been known to increase the lifespan of

mice

and rats 40 percent by preventing them from getting diseases of aging

such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even cataracts. The

hypothesis is that within each of our cells lies an evolutionarily

ancient defense program that can be activated by so-called " longevity

genes " which ameliorate the cellular damage that causes death and

disease. Activation of these genes in genetically altered worms and

flies has been shown to produce healthier, longer lives.

Buoyed by calorie restriction animal tests, research teams in this

small

field have been pursuing the molecular pathways that mimic calorie

restriction.

In the summer of 2003, Sinclair's team showed in a paper published in

Nature that a compound found in red wine called resveratrol could

stimulate this pathway in yeast cells. The yeast cells lived as much

as

60 percent longer, and in human cells tested in vitro, resveratrol

activated a similar pathway. It enabled 30 percent of the treated

human

cells to survive gamma radiation, compared to 10 percent of untreated

cells.

In a Nature paper published in July 2004, Sinclair's team showed that

resveratrol had a similar impact in higher organisms: worms and flies.

In worms, lifespan was extended up to 15 percent. In flies, lifespan

was

extended up to 29 percent. Another key finding with flies was that

there

was no loss of fertility, which can be seen in severe calorie

restricted

diets.

In a 2004 study published in the journal Science, Sinclair's group

found

that a key longevity gene called SIRT1 is switched on in rats that are

subjected to calorie restriction, which then increased the lifespan of

the rat's cells. In an interesting twist, the research team used the

blood of these long-lived rats to grow human cells in the culture

dish,

and the human cells also lived longer, suggesting that the blood might

have contained a life-giving molecule that could one day be given to

people.

Although there has been much interest in the SIRT1 gene, humans

actually

possess seven SIRT genes, known as SIRT1-7. It is suspected that many,

if not all, of these genes control aspects of the aging process.

Sinclair's group is testing whether these genes can forestall the

aging

process and increase the heathspan of mice. He has also identified a

master controller of the SIRT genes, which he calls PNC1 in yeast and

is

called PBEF in mammals. Experiments to test whether mice that

overproduce PBEF live longer, as his yeast cells did, are in progress.

Mr. Glenn's interest in biology of aging began as a teenager, as he

observed the decline in health and death of his grandparents. While a

senior at Princeton in 1951, he met Dr. Gardner, a research

scientist at pharmaceutical company, Hoffman-LaRoche, who explained

that

aging is a complex set of biochemical processes which can be

understood

only at the molecular level, and that the tools of molecular biology

were just beginning to be developed.

In 1965 Mr. Glenn founded the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research

with

a mission to extend the healthy productive human lifespan through

research on the biological mechanisms of aging. This mission has been

served through direct sponsorship of research grants and awards

programs

and through important relationships with other institutions focused on

understanding the molecular biology of aging and mechanisms that

govern

the pace at which normal individuals experience physiological decline

and disease. " As we mark our 40th anniversary, we are very excited to

establish this important relationship with Harvard Medical School and

look forward to accelerating research into this important area " said

Mark R. , President of the Glenn Foundation.

Historically financial support for research into the biological

mechanisms of aging and efforts to extend the healthy lifespan has

been

spotty. The pharmaceutical industry's support of basic aging research

is

hindered due to the fact that there are no generally accepted

biomarkers

for aging that would allow the FDA to approve a drug designed to slow

the aging process. Although Congress supplemented scarce aging

research

dollars by establishing the National Institute on Aging in 1974, that

money has predominately gone to disease specific research, such as

Alzheimer's disease, or towards the behavioral aspects of aging.

" Instead of addressing individual age related diseases, we are looking

at the bigger picture. Being able to extend the normal healthy

lifespan

has huge societal impact including decreasing associated healthcare

costs and increasing the productive lifespan. By understanding the

basic

mechanisms of aging, we hope to altogether avoid or mitigate the onset

of age related diseases as demonstrated by the research in caloric

restriction, " said Mr. Glenn. " Recent discoveries of longevity genes

by

Dr. Sinclair and others have persuaded me that aging includes the

phenomenon of a small group of genes controlling the expression of a

much larger group of genes, including those which activate cellular

defense mechanisms such as DNA repair. As we learn to control

expression

of specific genes, we may be able to prolong healthy cell life

without a

complete understanding of the biochemical pathways involved. "

In addition to funding these important initiatives through the

creation

of the F. Glenn Laboratories at Harvard Medical School, it is the

hope of Mr. Glenn, the Glenn Foundation and HMS that this initiative

will serve as a catalyst for attracting new investigators and donors

to

support this important field of research. " We are very hopeful that

during this five year commitment we are able to build on the momentum

we

have generated and spur the creation of an Institute at Harvard

Medical

School devoted to the biology of aging, to which the Glenn Foundation

has expressed possible additional support, " said Mr. .

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research

glennfoundation.org <http://www.glennfoundation.org/>

The Glenn Foundation for Medical Research was founded in 1965 by

F.

Glenn with the mission to extend the healthy, productive years of life

through research in the biological mechanisms of aging.

Contact: Lacey

public_affairs@...

617-432-0442

Harvard Medical School

http://www.hms.harvard.edu <http://www.hms.harvard.edu/>