Inter-organ signaling in metabolism and aging

Organs influence each other's function via multiple mechanisms including endocrine signaling, thereby influencing metabolism and aging in a non-autonomous fashion. For instance, adipokines secreted by adipose tissue affect both total body energy homeostasis as well as organismal inflammation. Using both vertebrate and invertebrate models systems, we will study how inter-organ signaling affects metabolism and aging.

In particular, we will study:

• How do nutrition, exercise and related signaling pathways affect aging?
• How do neuronal control of metabolism and activity, as well as neuro-inflammation, affect aging?
• What metabolites affect aging (e.g. immune system function)?