| Start Date: | 4/18/2016 | Start Time: | 3:30 PM |
| End Date: | 4/18/2016 | End Time: | 5:30 PM |
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Event Description
BIOMED PhD Research Proposal
Title:
Characterization, Modeling and Treatment of Metabolic Stress Responses in Cellular Aging
Speaker:
David Alfego, PhD Candidate, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Advisor:
Andres Kriete, PhD, Associate Director for Graduate Studies and Academic Operations, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Details:
Aging is known to lead to a number of changes that affect normal functions of cells, tissues and organisms throughout their lifespan. These changes can lead to any number of potential health risks, diseases or other disorders. Cellular aging has been proven to have a connection with increased stress responses, including inflammation and the NF-κB pathway. The causes leading to cell stress responses still need to be fully explored, though evidence points towards the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction and decreased ATP production. We hypothesize that aging cells are trapped in a pro-survival phenotype that includes an active down-regulation of the mitochondria, adding to other factors like oxidative damage. Sets of transcription factors connected to this de-regulation can be identified and mapped into an overarching signaling and control architecture of the cell.
Through the analysis of aged cell lines in quiescence, aged human tissues and an energy-deprived cellular model, connections to stress responses including the Akt/PI3K, mTOR, p53 pathways and autophagy have been found. Identification of the regulatory network and related signaling nodes is the basis to the development of a computational model based on rules. Fuzzy logic can implement those rules to simulate a minimalistic model of the metabolic responses. Such a computational model can be used to not only simulate aged cell responses, but also predict outcomes and offer insights into improving mitochondrial function and ATP production. |
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Location:
Bossone Research Center, Room 705, located at 32nd and Market Streets. |
Audience:
Undergraduate StudentsGraduate StudentsFacultyStaff |
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