Senescent Cells Effects in Response to Pathogens - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Aging is the broadest and most fundamental issue of our time because it affects all of society and underlies multiple diseases throughout our lifespan. Dr. Larissa Langhi Prata is a biomedical researcher with an M.S. and a Ph.D. in morphological sciences. She is an Assistant Professor of Physiology working in the equivalent of a research track at the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging (KCA) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN (MC), who wants to pursue an independent tenure-track career in geroscience. Her research investigates the role of senescent cells (SenCs) in the greater susceptibility of elderly and chronically ill patients to infectious diseases. Her findings may allow us to develop novel, effective strategies for addressing this major health problem through essential insights into the biology of aging and its links to the immune system. Her expertise regarding the interplay between the immune system and non-immune SenCs makes her suited to engage in her research goals. This career development plan will provide time and funds to enhance the skills required to carry out the proposed activities and to become fully independent. The major training goals involve running immunological assays, receiving hands-on digital pathology training to apply machine learning to image analysis, and developing laboratory management/leadership skills. Dr. Langhi Prata has put together a stellar team of mentors and advisors to coordinate her career development plans and research. Dr. Kirkland (primary mentor) and Dr. Tchkonia (advisor) are leaders in the field of cellular senescence and senolytic therapy and have guided many postdoctoral fellows to independent careers. Dr. Inna Ovsyannikova is an immunologist and a director of laboratory studies at the Vaccine Research Group at MC. Her expertise in viral and bacterial vaccine-induced immunity and being an active collaborator with Dr. Langhi Prata makes her the ideal co-mentor. Dr. Chady Meroueh, a pathologist from the MC Department of Laboratory Medicine, is Dr. Langhi Prata’s co-mentor in the digital pathology field and is knowledgeable in applying machine learning in healthcare image analyses. Dr. João Passos’s research on aging and image analysis and Dr. Matthew Urban’s expertise in employing machine learning for image analysis will act as advisors. Individually, these mentors and advisors are very accessible and will function as a committee to assess Dr. Langhi Prata’s progress quarterly. MC, the DP, and the KCA provide all the intellectual, technical, and infrastructural resources for Dr. Langhi Prata’s career development proposal and are also committed to supporting junior faculty members through internal grants and fostering faculty networking and collaboration. Dr. Langhi Prata will supplement her training and networking with workshops and seminars outside MC. The long-term goal for this proposal is to equip Dr. Langhi Prata with unique skills in immunology and digital pathology that will provide a singular interdisciplinary perspective to her independent career in the geroscience field.
