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FLI_Else Kröner-Fresenius Seminar Series on Aging

Heinrich Jasper

Prof. Jasper is pioneering the field of stem cell aging by using Drosophila as a model system. In recent years it was discovered that Drosophila ha somatic stem cells in the gut epithelium. These stem cells contribute to tissue homeostasis and lifespan control.  He disclosed basic principles of stem cell maintenance in the context of aging.

H.J. is professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, California, USA. He obtained a diploma in biochemistry from the University of Tübingen (Germany) in 1999 and his PhD from the University of Heidelberg/EMBL (Germany) in 2002, where he studied transcriptional regulation of developmental processes in Drosophila. H.J. assumed his first faculty appointment (research assistant professor) at the Department of Biomedical Genetics of the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2003, and in 2005 was appointed assistant professor at the Department of Biology of the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering of the University of Rochester. He moved to the Buck Institute in July of 2012.

H.J.’s studies focus on the role of stress signaling in regulating various aspects of physiology that influence lifespan in Drosophila. His work has demonstrated that an antagonistic interaction between the stress-regulated Jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) pathway and insulin signaling regulates metabolic homeostasis, apoptosis, growth, and stress resistance in flies and significantly affects lifespan. Most recently, his lab has initiated studies to characterize the role of stem cells and proliferative homeostasis in maintaining the health and lifespan of flies, establishing newly identified regenerative processes in the Drosophila midgut as a model for understanding the importance of somatic stem cell function for the lifespan of metazoans.

H.J. received the Senior Fellow Award of the Ellison Medical Foundation in 2008 and was named Wilmot Assistant Professor in Arts, Sciences, and Engineering in 2009. He has published numerous research papers, and his work was and is funded by the American Federation for Aging Research, the National Institute of Aging, the National Eye Institute, the New York Stem Cell Initiative, and the Ellison Medical Foundation.

  • Biteau, B., et al. (2008). "JNK Activity in Somatic Stem Cells Causes Loss of Tissue Homeostasis in the Aging Drosophila Gut." Cell Stem Cell 3(4): 442-455.
  • Guo, L. L., et al. (2014). "PGRP-SC2 Promotes Gut Immune Homeostasis to Limit Commensal Dysbiosis and Extend Lifespan." Cell 156(1-2): 109-122.
  • Hochmuth, C. E., et al. (2011). "Redox Regulation by Keap1 and Nrf2 Controls Intestinal Stem Cell Proliferation in Drosophila." Cell Stem Cell 8(2): 188-199.
  • Wang, M. C., et al. (2005). "JNK extends life span and limits growth by antagonizing cellular and organism-wide responses to insulin signaling." Cell 121(1): 115-125.

Jan van Deursen

Prof. van Deursen provided a proof of principle in mouse models that the accumulation of senescent cells promotes tissue and organismal aging in progeroid mouse models of accelerated aging. He will report unpublished data on the role of senescent cells in aging and the possibility to improve health and lifespan by removal of p16-positive, senescent cells.


Prof. Jan van Deursen received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology at the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands in 1993. He started his own lab at St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in 1996. He joined Mayo Clinic in 1999, where he is currently a Professor of Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Pediatrics at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He is the Vita Valley Named Professor of Cellular Senescence and directs the Senescence program of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging, the Cell Biology program of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic Gene Knockout and Transgenic Core Facility. Beginning in early 2012, he is also the Chair of the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology Department.
  • Baker DJ, Jeganathan KB, Cameron JD, Thompson M, Juneja S, Kopecka A, Kumar R, Jenkins RB, de Groen PC, Roche P, van Deursen JM. BubR1 insufficiency causes early onset of aging-associated phenotypes and infertility in mice. Nat Genet. 2004 Jul; 36(7):744-9. Epub 2004 Jun 20. PMID:15208629. DOI:10.1038/ng1382.
  • Baker DJ, Perez-Terzic C, Jin F, Pitel KS, Niederlander NJ, Jeganathan K, Yamada S, Reyes S, Rowe L, Hiddinga HJ, Eberhardt NL, Terzic A, van Deursen. Opposing roles for p16Ink4a and p19Arf in senescence and ageing caused by BubR1 insufficiency. Nat Cell Biol. 2008 Jul; 10(7):825-36. Epub 2008 May 30. PMID:18516091. PMCID:2594014. DOI:10.1038/ncb1744.
  • Baker DJ, Wijshake T, Tchkonia T, Lebrasseur NK, Childs BG, van de Sluis B, Kirkland JL, van Deursen JM. Clearance of p16 Ink4a-positive senescent cells delays ageing-associated disorders. Nature. 2011; 479(7372):232-6. PMCID:3468323.
  • van Deursen JM. The role of senescent cells in ageing. Nature. 2014 May 22;509(7501):439-46. PMID:2484805 7. PMCID:4214092. DOI:10.1038/nature13193 (REVIEW)

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