Nutritional programming of lifespan
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Cell and Developmental Biology
Abstract
Consumption of unhealthy diets is exacerbating the burden of age-related ill health in ageing populations. Such diets can programme mammalian physiology to cause long-term, detrimental effects. Recently, we have shown that in Drosophila melanogaster an unhealthy, high-sugar diet in early adulthood programmes lifespan to curtail later-life survival despite subsequent dietary improvement. Excess dietary sugar promotes insulin-like signalling, inhibits dFOXO - the Drosophila homologue of Forkhead Box O (FOXO) transcription factors - and represses expression of dFOXO-target genes encoding epigenetic regulators. This project aims to understand the epigenetic regulation downstream of dFOXO and nutrition in order to elucidate the mechanisms that program animal lifespan.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Nazif Alic (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Abbie Rogan (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M009513/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
| 1903455 | Studentship | BB/M009513/1 | 01/10/2017 | 29/03/2022 | Abbie Rogan |
| Description | I was part of the collaborative effort that demonstrated the health and longevity benefits that result from the inhibition of RNA polymerase I. |
| Exploitation Route | This research will stimulate further research on RHA polymerase I. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | RNA Polymerase III in healthy ageing: consolidating the mechanisms of longevity from worms and flies to mice |
| Amount | £457,795 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/S014357/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 06/2023 |
| Description | Conservation to mouse |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Collaborative applocation to BBSRC |
| Collaborator Contribution | Collaborative application to BBSRC |
| Impact | Funding for collaboration |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Ageing Masterclass, Oriel College Oxford (invited talk). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk to some 20 industry/professionals about recent work in ageing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | European Drosophila Research Conference (selected talk) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Selected talk about recent work on ageing to the attendees of the 2019 European Drosophlia Research Conference |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Hosting a highschool student through 15billionebp |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We hosted a highschool student through the 15billionebp programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany (retreat, invited talk). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk to some >50 research staff at a Max Planck retreat. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |