Led by Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, Ph.D., the Division of Biology of Aging vision focuses on research to enhance and extend the human health span through a better understanding of the biological mechanisms and the functional consequences that underlie the aging process. This includes the full spectrum of research from applying discoveries made in the laboratory, developing trials and studies for humans, and enhancing the adoption of best treatment practices into the medical community.
The division’s goals are to identify and investigate novel opportunities to better understand the mechanisms of aging, and to provide research service, seminars and education to investigators within UF and the national aging research community.
The objectives of the division’s research are to elucidate the biochemical, genetic, and physiological mechanisms of aging that result in age-related functional (both physical and cognitive) decline in humans and animal models. This includes investigations of the gradual or programmed alterations of structure and function that characterize normal aging, and investigations of the adverse changes that are risk factors for or accompany age-related disease states.
The division’s current broad research areas include:
- Animal Models (Function and Behavior).
- Musculoskeletal Biology (Function, Physiology and Biochemistry).
- Cardiovascular Biology (Function, Physiology and Biochemistry).
- Sensory Biology (Function, Physiology and Biochemistry).
- Cell Structure and Function (Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, Proteolysis and Apoptosis).
- Metabolic Regulation (Mitochondria, Body Composition/Imaging).