In humans and in the organisms used to model their aging, aging is considered to be a continuous process which is accompanied by an increasing risk of mortality as a function of time, and so-called ageing characteristics. Thanks to a tool(The Smurf essay) and to a theoretical framework (Two phases of ageing - 2PAC) developed by Michael Rera in recent years, initially using the model organism D. melanogaster, This vision of ageing can now be challenged, opening up new questions about the process.
We can now study the ageing as a discontinuous process composed of two successive phases separated by an abrupt transition, evolutionarily preserved in other Drosophila species, nematodes and zebrafish. Thanks to the ATIP-Avenir grant he won in 2018, he and his team have begun to characterize the transcriptional signature of each of these two phases as a function of chronological age, as well as its conservation in mammals, and to outline the ethical issues raised by our research....
The aim of the ANR-funded ADAGIO project is 1) to extend these tools to mammals, including humans, and 2) to characterize the metabolic changes accompanying the late phase of life, in order to 3) develop even earlier markers of natural death.
We see these as essential first steps in creating new, more effective anti-aging pharmacological and genetic interventions.
addendumTwo job descriptions will soon be published for a 24-month postdoc position, an 18-month engineer position with strong expertise in mice, and a PhD contract.
