Mair Lab
The Mair lab investigates why aging increases susceptibility to chronic diseases. We explore how nutrition and environment affect aging rates, noting benefits of fasting and reduced food intake in extending health span across species. We study genetic pathways linking metabolism and aging, aiming to replicate benefits of dietary restriction without its drawbacks. Our research spans from yeast to humans, leveraging evolutionary conservation to understand and potentially mitigate human aging processes.
665 Huntington Avenue
Building 1, Room 512
Boston, MA 02115
Why Study Aging in a Worm?
Using C. elegans, we study aging at the molecular level to identify conserved pathways influencing longevity and disease resistance across species.
C. elegans are 1.5mm long transparent nematodes that live around two weeks and display obvious signs of aging such as reduced movement and fertility. This makes them ideal for efficiently testing if genetic or pharmacological interventions increase longevity.
C. elegans have around 1,000 cells organized into neuronal, muscular, hypodermal, and intestinal tissues, yet their genome contains nearly the same number of genes as humans, with many showing strong homology. This makes C. elegans a powerful system to study aging genetics.
We have tools enabling rapid switching of individual genes in specific tissues and timepoints as worms age, allowing us to assign causality to healthy aging processes. Being transparent, we can also tag proteins to track abundance and localization in vivo during aging using fluorescence microscopy. Together these properties allow cost effective and rapid identification of molecular mechanisms mediating frailty and disease resistance in old age. Having identified such targets, we aim to test conservation in mammals and ultimately design novel therapeutics for age-related pathologies.