Half-day symposium: Ageing Biology and Therapeutics
A series of talks by Oxford speakers with KEYNOTE by Prof Jim Kirkland, Mayo Clinic, USA
Senolytic drugs to treat age-related chronic diseases and COVID-19
28th April 2022 8.45am – 1pm
Harris Lecture Theatre
Oriel College
Oxford
More about the keynote speaker
(from www.mayo.edu/research/faculty/kirkland-james-l-m-d-ph-d/bio-00096544)
Prof Kirkland MD PhD is a Consultant at the Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, the Mayo Clinic Rochester, USA and is Professor of Medicine and Physiology.
His major research focus is the impact of cellular aging (senescence) on age-related dysfunction and chronic diseases, especially developing methods for removing these cells and alleviating their effects. Senescent cells accumulate with aging and in such diseases as dementias, atherosclerosis, cancers, diabetes and arthritis, even in younger people.
The goal of Dr. Kirkland's current work is to develop methods to remove these cells to delay, prevent, alleviate or partially reverse age-related chronic diseases as a group and extend health span, the period of life free of disability, pain, dependence and chronic disease.
His research team has three main focus areas:
- Cellular senescence. Dr. Kirkland's team developed the idea that removing senescent cells may enhance health span
- Senolytic drugs. Dr. Kirkland and his team devised a novel strategy to discover the first senolytic drugs, agents that selectively eliminate senescent cells. These senolytics are effective in delaying, preventing, alleviating or treating multiple conditions and diseases in mice. They are currently in clinical trials for serious senescence-related diseases, in which they have shown early signs of promise.
- Diabetes, other chronic diseases and cellular senescence. Diabetes and obesity are associated with accumulation of senescent cells in fat and other tissues. Dr. Kirkland's group is working on ways to reduce severity and alleviate the complications of diabetes by clearing senescent cells or blocking them from producing factors that cause or exacerbate dysfunction.
Dr. Kirkland's work is important in developing methods to enhance health span and delay onset of chronic age-related diseases as a group, rather than one at a time. These conditions, including diabetes, dementias, atherosclerosis, cancers and arthritis, among others, account for the bulk of morbidity, mortality and health care costs throughout most of the world.