Unraveling the mechanisms of human aging and its associated diseases is a challenging and complex interdisciplinary research project. Many signaling pathways alter during a person’s lifetime and may become the trigger for disease. In its investigation of various aspects of cell aging, CECAD has defined three Research Areas that are exploring the key mechanisms of aging
Cell autonomous control of homeostatic mechanisms and cellular stress responses in aging and age-associated diseases
Aging is characterized by the decline of physiological integrity, which culminates in functional defects and increased risk for age-associated diseases. Cell autonomous deficits include disturbances in cellular proteostasis, organellar homeostasis, and genome integrity, which in turn can elicit multiple adaptive signaling pathways and cellular stress responses.
Stress response mechanisms of tissue-related and interorgan communication in aging and age-associated diseases
During the aging process, different stress response pathways, such as the unfolded protein response (UPR), the mitochondrial stress response (MSR), and the DDR – as studied in RA-1 – are tightly coordinated. Through this coordination they ensure physiological integrity especially when metabolic changes challenge the overall system.
Environment/organism interactions in aging and age-associated diseases
The organism constantly has to integrate information about the internal state with external environmental cues to adapt behavioral and autonomic responses to ensure the correct, optimal physiological homeostasis. The integrated coordination of internal signals with external environmental cues determines lifespan and the onset of age-associated diseases.
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Trifunovic
Principal Investigator
Head of Research Area 1
Prof. Dr. David Vilchez
Principal Investigator
Head of Research Area 1
Prof. Dr. Christian Frezza
Principal Investigator
Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Metabolomics in Aging
Head of Research Area 2
christian.frezza[at]uni-koeln.de
Metabolomics in aging
Room: 4.068
CECAD Research Center
Joseph-Stelzmann-Str. 26
50931 Köln
Dr. Anne Schaefer
Principal Investigator
Director of MPI for Biology of Ageing
Head of Research Area 2
Prof. Dr. Filipe Gomes Cabreiro
Principal Investigator
Head of Research Area 3
Prof. Dr. Tatiana Korotkova
Principal Investigator
Institute Director
Head of Research Area 3