More research from our team
Our respected research team is carrying out a diverse range of projects related to ageing, age related disease, and how mitochondria respond to ageing.
For example, we are looking at potential inflammatory pathways in Parkinson’s disease and what happens to the mitochondrial biochemistry in these cases. We are following up recently published work on carbonic anhydrase II inhibitors to see how they affect humans and model species such as the nematode worm. This includes considering how exercise might change the mitochondria, preventing neurodegeneration, which we’re investigating using the fruit-fly.
Another avenue of research is how other animal species respond to the challenges of ageing. We know birds can live a long time, and certain mammals like the naked mole-rat and microbat also live a long time for their small size and high metabolic rate. We’re making comparisons between mitochondria from the bat and the mouse to further our research in this field.
Dr Lisa Chakrabarti is engaged in untangling the role of mitochondria and the production of cellular energy as animals go from maturity into middle and old age. This work is interesting in its own right, as we still don’t really know why animals get old and become more susceptible to disease. However, Lisa’s greatest impact is in the area of extending ‘healthspan’, so that getting older can be more frequently associated with a high quality of life.