Prof. Leonard P Guarente

The Guarente Lab has been focused on the genetic and molecular basis of aging. While most of our earlier work was focused on model organisms, we have shifted our emphasis to mammals, mouse models and humans. Our studies include a focus on the brain, including the importance of circadian control and aging. We are also probing the link between aging and diseases of aging, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Our approach is to combine the most comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of human and murine brains with functional analysis of pathways and genes in mice. While the NAD+ dependent deacylases known as sirtuins have occupied a large portion of our effort to date, we are now interested in applying unbiased approaches to identify the major pathways and genes that are important in the aging of key centers of the brain. Our findings may guide studies in other organs and lead to a systemic understanding of mammalian aging.