Transcription Drift Paper Garners Media Attention

With the recent publication of "Suppression of transcriptional drift extends C. elegans lifespan by postponing the onset of mortality" in eLife, excitement and interest has been rapidly spreading and the lab has been interviewed by numerous media sources to highlight the story. Some of the main articles can be found below:

Media Hub TSRI News & Views TSRI News Release The Guardian Science Daily Medical Xpress Science Newsline

Research Spotlight on Michael in SCRIPPS EDUCATION REPORTER: EDITION 1

We all want to live longer. Dozens of laboratories at The Scripps Research Institute are working to defeat life-threatening conditions ranging from different types of cancer to genetic and neurodegenerative disorders. But independent of specific diseases, what factors determine a person’s lifespan? Might it be possible one day to significantly extend length and quality of life? It turns out the answers to these big questions may be found in the smallest of places

TSRI faculty members William Ja and Michael Petrascheck study the aging process using two types of animals known in biomedical research as “model organisms.” Drosophila melanogaster, aka the common fruit fly, is used in the Ja lab, while the Petrascheck lab relies on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a tiny nematode or roundworm. Both organisms are easy to work with in a laboratory setting and bear genetic similarities with mammals, including humans. These similarities are due to specific genes and their functions being “conserved” in both species, or relatively unchanged over time by evolution.

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Sunitha Featured on Postdoc Corner

Sunitha Rangaraju is a Research Associate with a Muscular Dystrophy Association Development Grant Fellowship in the lab of Dr. Michael Petrascheck. She was elected and currently serves as the Career Development Co-Chair of the Society of Fellows, at TSRI La Jolla

campus.

What is your background?

I obtained my Ph.D in Biomedical Sciences from University of Florida, Gainesville (Hello, TSRI peers in Florida!). During my Ph.D, I identified protein quality control pathways of therapeutic potential in neurodegenerative disease models. I also determined key pathways that deteriorate with age and worsen disease condition and identified drug candidates to ameliorate the disease phenotypes and biomarkers.

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Michael's Aging Cell Paper Highlighted in Science Magazine and Global Medical Discovery

Tracking Down a Tonic for a Long Life (ScienceMagazine)

Scientists may not yet have found the fountain of youth, but Ye et al. now report on a screen for drugs that can extend life span in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans.

Starting with a collection of over 1200 drugs that have or are suspected to have activity in human cells, they identified nearly 60 compounds that extended life span up to 43%.

Many of the compounds targeted proteins that function in signaling pathways between cells, such as hormone or neurotransmitter receptors, particularly those for adrenaline and noradrenaline, serotonin, dopamine, histamine, and serotonin.

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A pharmacological network for lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans (Global Medical Discovery)

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Greg Helps Start Scripps Consulting Club

Business skills and knowledge are rarely covered in science PhD coursework. A new organization at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) aims to provide such training and resources for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and others considering a career in management consulting, venture capitalism, business development or strategic management. Response to its initial events indicates the Scripps Consulting Club (SCC) has found a ready audience.

“Some 50 people came to the California launch meeting and more than 25 showed up at the Florida meeting,” said SCC President Joseph Lai, a fourth-year graduate student in the Gottesfeld lab. “Clearly, there appears to be a demand for exposure to the business world and career options.” 


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