Event: Horizons in Biosciences & Informatics Seminar Series (HBISS)
What: Mechanisms of Longevity: Lessons from Long-Lived Mammals
When: Thursday, April 30th, 1-2pm Pacific Time / 4-5pm Eastern Time
Where: Microsoft Teams
Who: Vera Gorbunova, University of Rochester; Andrei Seluanov, University of Rochester
Summary:
Long-lived mammals maintain genome and epigenome stability across decades, and in some cases centuries, of life through mechanisms that comparative biology is only beginning to map. This talk examines those mechanisms with a focus on the bowhead whale and other exceptionally long-lived mammals that resist age-related decline and cancer. Bowhead fibroblasts, for example, require fewer oncogenic hits to undergo malignant transformation than human cells, yet compensate with dramatically superior DNA repair. The discussion covers DNA repair fidelity, transposable element control, and the regulatory pathways linking genome maintenance to extended lifespan. These findings point toward translational strategies for protecting human genome integrity against somatic mutation accumulation, disease, and environmental genotoxic stress. They are also directly relevant to spaceflight: astronauts on long-duration missions accumulate ionizing radiation damage at accelerated rates, and enhanced repair fidelity rather than damage tolerance may offer a more viable path to genomic protection beyond low Earth orbit.
Biographies:
Dr. Vera Gorbunova is an endowed Professor of Biology at the University of Rochester and Director of the Rochester Aging Research Center. Her research investigates the mechanisms of longevity and genome stability through the study of exceptionally long-lived mammals, and she pioneered the comparative biology approach to aging. She demonstrated thatLINE1 elements trigger age-related inflammation and has received support from the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Glenn Foundation, AFAR, and the NIH. Her honors include the Cozzarelli Prize from PNAS, the ADPS/Allianz Prize for research on aging (France), and the Prince Hitachi Prize in Comparative Oncology (Japan).
Dr. Andrei Seluanov is a Professor of Biology at the University of Rochester, where his research investigates the mechanisms of longevity, genome stability, and cancer resistance in long-lived mammals. He earned his B.Sc. at Saint Petersburg State University and his Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and applies comparative biology to identify rules governing the evolution of tumor suppressor mechanisms across species lifespan and body mass. His group identified high-molecular-weight hyaluronan as the key mediator of cancer resistance in the naked mole rat and showed that DNA double-strand break repair declines with age and senescence. His work has appeared in Nature, Science, and Cell, and his honors include the Cozzarelli Prize from PNAS and the Prince Hitachi Prize in Comparative Oncology.
About HBISS:
The purpose of HBISS is to foster interdisciplinary conversation, education, and collaboration. Experts in biosciences and informatics are invited to speak once a month and engage with members of the Open Science Data Repository’s Analysis Working Group (OSDR-AWG) and the public to facilitate discussion of cutting-edge research, techniques, and methodology. @AWGall
From March 2022 through February 2025, the HBISS series was designed exclusively for an internal NASA audience. Beginning in April 2025, the series was opened to the public and the broader OSDR-AWG community. To stay in the loop, join the AWG.
Questions? HBISS organizer is ryan.t.scott@nasa.gov