Congratulations to Kathy, Calvin, and all of our collaborators on getting this paper published! Here's a link to the article on the JCB website:

https://rupress.org/jcb/article-abstract/222/9/e202208150/214222/PTEN-is-both-an-activator-and-a-substrate-of?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Congratulations to Kathy, Calvin, and Ilkim on getting this paper published! I'm very grateful to our collaborators at Calico for contributing some of their data to this short article.

Here's a link to the article on the Aging website:

https://www.aging-us.com/article/204796/text

I'm happy to announce that Calvin Burns has been promoted to Research Laboratory Specialist!

HF-AGE 005 "PTEN as a regulator of chaperone-mediated autophagy, and its effects on the lysosomal targetome"

 We are very happy to accept this R21 equivalent to study the effects of the lifespan-extending PTEN transgene. PTEN is a non-redundant phosphatase whose deficiency is implicated in the pathogenesis of autism, diabetes, and most types of cancer. Global overexpression (OE) of PTEN is sufficient to extend lifespan of both male and female mice. PTEN OE exerts anti-neoplastic effects, and PTEN OE mice show other signs of slowed aging and increased healthspan, such as improved brown adipose function, reduced DNA damage, and improved tightrope performance in 18-24 month-old animals. We will be studying the effects of PTEN OE on the biology of the lysosome.

A very big thanks to AFAR and the Hevolution Foundation!

Read about the grant recipients on the Business Wire:

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230522005388/en/Hevolution-Foundation-Advancing-Geroscience-Efforts-HF-AGE-Grant-Recipients-Announced

Joe will be presenting a talk entitled: "Chaperone-mediated autophagy is required for metabolic reprogramming downstream of PTEN, a tumor suppressor and regulator of longevity" at the Mechanisms of Aging Conference at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories.

For Fall Semester, 2022, we will once again be hosting a journal club focusing on Autophagy and Aging, with a special emphasis on the role that the insulin PI3K signaling pathway plays in regulating lifespan. Contact Joe  to see the curriculum, or to join us! Future journal clubs will be held in the summer and fall terms.

Joe will be giving a CME lecture entitle: "The lifespan extending PTEN transgene regulates metabolism by activating chaperone-mediated autophagy" as part of the seminar series hosted by the Research Education Core for the Claude D Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at UM.

I'm very happy to welcome Calvin Burns to the research team! After completing his Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at UM, Calvin will be starting a new area of research: chaperone-mediated autophagy.

A big thanks to the Claude D Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at UM for funding this pilot project to understand the metabolic effects of changes in CMA, and the implications that those changes have on aging and lifespan in mice.

I'm very pleased to take the opportunity to be a part of the Research Education Core at UM! It's an honor to be selected to join this program for the development of junior faculty interested conducting aging research.