Guest Editors
Alexandra Sviercovich
University of California, Berkeley
<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(14, 16, 26);">Dr. Alexandra Sviercovich is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in the biology of aging. She earned her PhD from Sapienza University of Rome and Sorbonne University, where she focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cancer cachexia. In 2023, she joined the Conboy Laboratory at UC Berkeley, where her research investigates the influence of systemic factors on tissue aging, particularly how aged systemic environments drive aging through increased protein production and variability. Beyond her research, Dr. Sviercovich is an associate editor for </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(14, 16, 26);">Rejuvenation Research</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(14, 16, 26);">, contributing to scholarly discussions on aging and longevity. As a member of the Black Women in Computational Biology Network and the Society of Women Engineers Network, she actively promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, science advocacy, and initiatives supporting bioengineering education and diversity. Her work bridges fundamental aging research with innovative therapeutic approaches to improve healthspan.</span></p>
Yanina Bogliotti
Conboy Lab, University of California, Berkeley
<p>Dr. Yanina Bogliotti is a project scientist at the Conboy Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, where she studies the aging process. Her research is driven by a strong passion for stem cell biology and regeneration, a field she has explored through various perspectives since her PhD studies at the University of California, Davis. During her doctoral research, she focused on understanding the pluripotency states in bovine pre-implantation embryos and their stem cells. After completing her PhD, Dr. Bogliotti worked for four years in a startup called Hepatx, where she significantly contributed to the development of an innovative stem cell therapy aimed at treating liver disease. Her current research interests include the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying aging phenotypes, as well as identifying potential therapeutic interventions to enhance the body's regenerative capabilities and increase a healthy lifespan.</p>
Collection Overview
Aging is characterized as a time-dependent decline in the overall functionality of organisms, leading to increased susceptibility to age-related diseases and mortality. Researchers have identified twelve hallmark features of aging, as reviewed by Lopez-Otin et al.:
1. Cellular senescence
2. Telomere attrition
3. Mitochondrial dysfunction
4. Stem cell exhaustion
5. Altered intercellular communication
6. Chronic inflammation
7. Dysbiosis (microbiome dysfunction)
8. Genomic instability
9. Epigenetic alterations
10. Loss of proteostasis
11. Disabled macro-autophagy
12. Dysregulated nutrient sensing
The field of aging research is advancing rapidly, yielding many promising findings. These include systemic strategies such as physical exercise, calorie restriction, senolytics (agents that can selectively induce death of senescent cells), parabiosis (blood exchange), and targeted approaches like the administration of oxytocin (OT) paired with an activin receptor-like kinase 5 inhibitor (ALK5i). All of these methods aim to address the mechanisms underlying cellular aging.
Despite these advances, many challenges remain. The aging process is complex and multifactorial, involving intricate interactions between genetic, environmental, and epigenetic factors that researchers have not yet fully understood. This collection seeks to compile current and innovative methodologies in aging research and rejuvenation, both in vitro and in vivo, to deepen our understanding of the aging phenotype and to help extend healthy lifespans.
