Postdoctoral training in aging research

Eric Verdin, MD – Program Director

Gordon Lithgow, PhD – Chair

Jennifer Garrison, PhD – Committee Member

Martin Brand, PhD – Committee Member

Fellowship projects are renewed annually for a maximum of three years. Stipends are commensurate with experience and follow NIH recommended postdoctoral stipend levels. Trainees will gain knowledge in the mechanisms of biological aging and its relationship to chronic disease. Trainees will gain skills in critical thinking to evaluate new research findings. In addition, trainees will receive instruction in written and verbal skills that enrich their publications, grant proposals, and oral presentations. Ongoing seminar series, basic science and clinical lectures, well-organized journal clubs, and research meetings will provide up-to-date information and intellectual cross-fertilization that can lead to the next wave of major discoveries in the field.

Our program leans on the ‘Seven Pillars of Aging’ identified by the NIH Geroscience Initiative: Metabolism, Macromolecular Damage, Epigenetics, Inflammation, Adaptation to Stress, Proteostasis, and Stem cells and Regeneration. In addition to the seven pillars of aging, another perhaps more important concept in aging research has emerged. It is now becoming clear that the mechanisms driving aging are inter-connected. For instance, macromolecular damage can lead to cellular senescence, promoting localized inflammation. It is thus not only important to identify and elaborate the pillars of aging themselves, but it is critical to understand how they are connected and what the earliest triggers of the aging process are. Given our focus on geroscience and our collaborative nature, the Buck Institute is in an ideal position to understand how aging pathways are related and to begin to establish a systems level understanding of aging.

The major goal of this program is to encourage and support new activities at the Institute that will build on existing expertise, but aim at identifying and exploiting synergies with the promise of major breakthroughs in geroscience. Such breakthroughs will range from the conceptual to the translational: developing a deeper understanding of the aging process, identifying new targets for possible interventions, and developing and testing intervention strategies. The program is thus directly geared towards the initiation of new activities between multiple laboratories with promise to make a real impact in geroscience.

Fellows will serve a period of two to three years each depending on the project requirements. Projects by Postdoctoral Fellows must have the following components:

• A novel project that addresses connectivity between at least two of the pillars of aging.
• Collaborative science with a primary mentor and a co-mentor having expertise in two areas of aging.
• Projects of two-year duration, with a third year subject to demonstration of significant progress.
• Proposals reviewed by an internal panel of investigators at the Buck Institute and with involvement of the Glenn Foundation, if desired.
• Emphasis on the development of translational approaches to extend human healthspan will be viewed favorably, subject to compliance with other requirements.

1. Mechanisms of neuropeptide inactivation

Jacqueline Lo, Mentors: Garrison, Schilling and Gibson

2. Revealing the role of EP300 in autophagy and aging by using a lifespan-extending small molecule NDGA

Tugsan Tezil, Mentors: Verdin, Lithgow

3. Unbiased proteomic profiling of the “secretome” and “surfaceome” of senescent cells

Natan Basisty, Mentors: Schilling, Campisi, Verdin

4. Pro-geronic factors produced by senescent cells as therapeutic targets for aging

Okhee Jeon, Mentors: Campisi, Schilling, Newman, Conboy

5. Novel genome-wide screening methods for genes that affect aging in C. elegans

Wenke Wang, Mentors: Brem, Campisi

6. Mitochondrial factors regulate the formation and dissolution of protein aggregate

Qingqing Liu, Mentors: Zhou, Schilling

7. Age-dependent neurodegeneration in PD: Role of LRRK2 and translation

Suzana Benitez, Mentors: Haghighi, Ellerby

8. Role of lysine succinylation in macrophage polarization and aging-associated inflammation

Ran Zhang, Mentors: Verdin, Schilling

• Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation;
• Must have a Buck Institute Faculty Sponsor;
• The applicant should design an innovative and significant project;
• Should demonstrate significant potential and propose to undertake one or more innovative, original and independent research projects;
• Should be able to demonstrate significant scientific productivity in the form of publications in peer-reviewed journals;
• Willingness to contribute to the aims and vision of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and to collaborate with existing members of the Institute is also essential.

Openings will be announced as they occur.

The primary home of the training program is the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, located in Novato, California. Postdoctoral trainees may work under the primary supervision of any Buck Institute faculty or selected faculty at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Stanford University or the University of California in Berkeley (UCB). The research will be conducted at the location of the primary preceptor. Please see the list below for eligible preceptors and apply directly to the preceptor.

Applicants should select a preceptor from the list below:

TO APPLY FOR A POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING SLOT

Individuals wishing to apply for a position on this training grant should contact a preceptor on the list — send the preceptor a CV, cover letter, and a list of three references. Either the preceptor or the trainee may select a second preceptor for joint training. The primary preceptor will then submit an application to the Training Program.

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WILL BE CHOSEN ON THE BASIS OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

1. Quality as determined by publications, awards and recommendations, commitment to a career in basic or translational aging and/or age-related disease research, and relevance of the training project to aging or age-related disease.
2. 
Collaborative projects between one or more preceptors, particularly inter-institutional projects, will be given special consideration.
3. As required by NIH, trainees must be US citizens or permanent residents. Please verify.