[All Institutions]

Senior and New Scholars Awards for University of Rochester


Dr. Vera Gorbunova

University of Rochester

Anticancer mechanisms in a long-lived rodent, the naked mole-rat

2009 senior Scholar Award in aging
The naked mole-rat is the longest living rodent with a maximum lifespan exceeding 28 years. In addition to its longevity, the naked mole-rat has extraordinary resistance to cancer as tumors have never been observed in these rodents. The mechanism for cancer resistance in the naked mole-rat is unknown. The goal of our research is to understand the... more >>

Dr. Heinrich Jasper

University of Rochester

Tissue Regeneration and Aging

2008 senior Scholar Award in aging

Regeneration is a critical biological process that allows preserving tissue function in multi-cellular organisms. Tissue-specific stem cells are central to this process, as they maintain the ability to divide and self-renew throughout adulthood, giving birth to a variety of specialized cell types that can replace damaged cells. The regenerative... more >>

Dr. Andrew Samuelson

University of Rochester

Functional Genomics and Genetics of Aging in Caenorhabditis Elegans

2010 new Scholar Award in aging
An understanding of the genetic factors that influence aging could lead to the identification of potential therapeutic targets to attenuate the suffering caused by debilitating health problems. Aging is conserved across species and single mutations within orthologous genes in nematodes, flies, and mice regulate longevity and age-related phenotypes... more >>

Dr. Andrei Seluanov

University of Rochester

Tumor-suppressor Mechanisms in a Long-lived Rodent (Eastern Grey Squirrel)

2006 new Scholar Award in aging
Eastern grey squirrel is one of the longest-lived rodents. Its maximum documented lifespan is 23 years, which is almost 10 times longer than that of a mouse. Since squirrel is related to classical short-lived laboratory rodents such as mouse and rat, squirrel is an ideal model organism to identify factors that determine longevity.

Aging... more >>

Dr. Vera Gorbunova

University of Rochester

Effect of Aging on Efficiency and Accuracy of DNA Double-Strand Break Repair

2003 new Scholar Award in aging

Aging cells and tissues accumulate point mutations and genomic rearrangements, consistent with a failing ability to defend their genomes against DNA damage. Rearrangements result primarily from errors in repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs), which arise commonly by breakage of replication forks, as a result of damage due to ionizing radiation... more >>

Funded Institutions

The Ellison Medical Foundation fosters research by means of grants-in-aid on behalf of investigators to universities and laboratories within the United States. Institutions receiving awards must be tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations or U.S. colleges or universities.