Principal Investigator
Alaattin Kaya is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Biology. Alaattin is a geneticist and biochemist, interested in many aspects of biology of aging from the evolutionary and molecular genetics and biochemical perspectives. Genes and environmental factors that strongly interact to modulate observed aging patterns among different organisms has been one of his major interests. He hopes to advance understanding of the biology of aging and the fundamental relationship between genetic variation, metabolism and longevity phenotypes.
Lab Members
Samantha McLean: Master student, Biology
Samantha is interested in uncovering novel interacting partners of the target of rapamycin complex 1 (TOR1), associated with stress resistance and lifespan regulation. She is aiming that these new interacting proteins may offer new targets for therapeutic interventions in human diseases caused by perturbed TOR1 signaling.
email:
Naci Oz: Ph.D. student, Integrative Life Sciences
Naci's research focus centered around (1) mechanisms by which cells decode alternative epigenetic information, when intracellular NAD is depleted, (2) identification of pathways regulating NAD homeostasis.
email:
Charlotte Hartle: Research Technician, Biology Major
Charlotte attended VCU for her undergraduate degree in scientific illustration before returning to study biology. She is currently interested in identifying evolutionary conserved regulators of lifespan.
email:
Morrigan McKernan: Sophomore, Biology Major
Morrigan is an undergraduate at VCU majoring in Biology and studying to go into medicine. She is interested in intricate connections between genomic instability and mitochondrial dysfunction in regulation of aging.
email: