Toren Finkel
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Biology
As we age, more of our cells become senescent. These cells stop dividing but do not die, and they are increasingly linked to age-related diseases.
- Fields
Biology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Physiology
- Topics
cellular senescence
senescent cells
aging
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jul 2030
What they work on
- Build a high-resolution map of senescent cells, cells that stop dividing permanently, in human lung and heart, using single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing, proteomics and spatial transcriptomics.
- Identify the body's own triggers of senescence by exposing precision-cut slices of human lung and heart to defined senescence-inducing stresses outside the body and characterizing the resulting cells.
- Define markers of senescence in cells that do not divide, such as heart muscle cells, by comparing whole tissue with stimulated tissue slices from the same individuals.
- Support geroscience studies of mobility and balance decline in older adults by providing instruments, genetic reagents, metabolomics, microbiome expertise and screening platforms to Pepper Center investigators.
More about the research
Most of what is known about senescence comes from animal models, so its biology in human tissues remains poorly understood. Scientists also do not know what naturally triggers senescence in the human body. They do not even know how to recognize it in cells that normally never divide, such as heart muscle cells and neurons. The research here maps senescent cells in human organs and supports wider work on the biology of aging and mobility.
Why it matters
Senescent cells may drive heart disease, lung disease and other conditions of aging. A detailed human map of where they are and what triggers them could guide senolytic drugs, which aim to remove these cells. Linking basic aging biology to mobility and balance could also help develop interventions that keep older adults moving and independent for longer.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jenna Bartley
University of Connecticut, CT·Microbiology & Immunology
Test whether clearing senescent cells with senolytic drugs before vaccination improves cell-mediated and antibody responses to recombinant flu nucleoprotein and adjuvanted inactivated flu vaccines in aged mice.
Davis Englund
University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL·Physiology·Early-career
Define the core features of muscle fiber senescence by overexpressing p21, a cell-cycle-halting protein, in muscle fibers of living mice and combining validated senescence markers with transcriptome-wide analysis to find candidate therapeutic targets.
Michael Garrett
University of Southern Mississippi, MS·Biochemistry
Provide Mississippi INBRE investigators with consultation and technical services in multiomics, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, bioenergetic cell assays and imaging through five shared core facilities.
The school
University of Pittsburgh: 83 labs on PI Pages, $1.5B a year on research, 403 research doctorates a year.
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