We intend to take advantage of the genetic model system of the fruit fly Drosophila and its simple heart to probe and investigate the mechanisms of organ-specific aging. Past studied have established that basic mechanisms of heart formation and establishment of regular heart contractions are controlled by gene systems that are well-...
Senior and New Scholars Awards for Burnham Institute
Dr. Rolf Bodmer
Burnham Institute
2008 senior Scholar Award in aging
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Dr. Giovanni Paternostro
Burnham Institute
2002 new Scholar Award in aging
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has served as a valuable model-organism for the study of
aging and was the first organism possessing a circulatory system to have its genome completely
sequenced. Little is known, however, about the function of the heart-like organ of flies...
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Dr. Huaxi Xu
Burnham Institute
1999 new Scholar Award in aging
Alzheimer's disease (AD) occurs when large numbers of neurons - the cells which make up the brain, die over many years. These cells are in the areas of the brain which are responsible for forming and storing memories and for performing higher thought processes. This is why AD affects memory and the ability to think in patients afflicted with... |
Dr. Malene Hansen
Burnham Institute
2008 new Scholar Award in aging
Age is the greatest risk factor for many diseases, including cancer. With a rapidly growing aging population, this is becoming an increasingly important health issue in our society. One approach to start addressing this problem is to understand how genes affect the aging process. Experimental approaches using model organisms, e.g. the roundworm...
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Dr. Stuart Lipton
Burnham Institute
2001 senior Scholar Award in aging
Recently, scientists at our Institute reported that stem cells derived from blood/bone marrow have the ability to be transformed into nerve cells in the brain. Research in this proposal will take advantage of this finding to generate large numbers of nerve cells from a donorís own blood. We will use a transcription factor (termed hMEF2C... |
Funded Institutions
The Ellison Medical Foundation fosters research by means of grants-in-aid on behalf of investigators to universities and laboratories within the United States. Institutions receiving awards must be tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations or U.S. colleges or universities.
The Ellison Medical Foundation