Ralph’s primary interest is with the immune system. He is interested in understanding the mechanism of self-tolerance and how failures of such lead to autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes and psoriasis. He is also interested in gene therapy approaches for causing and preventing autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Lei Zhang is working on investigating several longevity factors and pro-aging signaling pathways using cell culture and mouse models, as well as developing potential senotherapeutics to extend healthy lifespan. Outside the lab, he enjoys reading, cooking, fishing, and exploring the beauty of nature with his cat.
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Tim focuses on using stem cells extracellular vesicles to suppress cellular senescence and analyzing the role of senescent extracellular vesicles in the aging process. His outside interests include spending time with his daughter and son, fishing, board games, movies and music.
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Fernando is interested in the physiological role of somatic stem cell niches from the perspective of aging and age-related disease, and in particular how extracellular vesicles (and their cargoes) secreted by stem cells regulate cellular senescence. He also is identifying miRNAs that contribute to initiating or maintaining the senescent cell state. Fernando enjoys rediscovering the wonder of the world through his son, Ian's eyes. Fernando is an aficionado of traditional Tango music, collects late 19th- to early 20th-century British and French mee
Xiuli’s research focuses on the study of aging hallmarks, mitochondrial dysfunction and mitophagy regulation in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Xiuli enjoys traveling with family and friends, oil painting and writing in her free time.
Representative publications:
Dan X, Babbar M, Moore A, Wechter N, Tian J, Mohanty JG, et al. DNA damage invokes mitophagy through a pathway involving Spata18. Nucleic acids research. 2020;48:6611-23.
Allancer’s research focuses on understanding the mechanism of action by which specific miRNAs modulate cellular senescence. He is also investigating the effects of several senotherapeutics in the aging process of stem cells. Allancer enjoys reading, spending time with his friends, traveling and exploring different places and cultures.
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