What governs how fast we age? Why do some biological processes stop working earlier than others? And what is happening at the molecular and cellular level as some organisms age while others continue to thrive?
Although seemingly philosophical in nature, these questions address one of the major mysteries of biology, the process of aging. With recent developments in genetics, molecular biology, and genomics, we now have the possibility of addressing these questions at the molecular level. Because our ultimate goal is not simply to extend lifespan, but to improve overall health, we must identify the genes associated with biological functions that we typically associate with quality of life. The goal of our laboratory's work is to understand the molecular mechanisms governing longevity and maintenance of the biological processes that exhibit age-related decline.
Recent Publications
Insulin-like peptides (ILPs) play highly conserved roles in development and physiology. Most animal genomes encode multiple ILPs. Here we identify mechanisms for how the forty Caenorhabditis elegans ILPs coordinate diverse processes, including development, reproduction, longevity and several specific stress responses. Our systematic studies…
One of the original hypotheses of organismal longevity posits that aging is the natural result of entropy on the cells, tissues, and organs of the animal--a slow, inexorable slide into nonfunctionality caused by stochastic degradation of its parts. We now have evidence that aging is instead at least in part genetically regulated. Many…
Contact information
Carl Icahn Lab 140
Princeton University
Princeton NJ, 08540
Lab phone: 609-258–9505