Let’s Talk Trash! Cellular Recycling on the Basis for Healthy Aging
Ana Maria Cuervo, Professor of Developmental and Molecular Biology, co-director of the Institute for Aging Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Advances in our understanding of the drivers of aging has revealed intracellular quality control as a central protective mechanism against the loss of function and increase vulnerability to disease associated with aging. Cuervo investigates autophagy, a cellular process responsible for removal and recycling of any damage or non-functional cellular component. Cuervo discusses how failure of autophagy with age is on the basis of severe age-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders and metabolic conditions of aging. Lastly, she comments on the gerotherapeutic potential of targeting autophagy in these conditions. Elected in 2019, Cuervo represents the Academy's section on Medical Physiology and Metabolism.