Guest Editors
Robert T. R. Huckstepp
University of Warwick
Dr. Robert T. R. Huckstepp is an associate professor at the University of Warwick. His research focuses on respiratory and cardiovascular neurobiology, with particular interests in sleep apnoea and its associated comorbidities, especially neurodegenerative diseases. His work aims to advance the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying cardiorespiratory regulation and their implications for health and disease.Dr. Huckstepp also serves as a coordinator for the International Consortium to Classify Ageing-related Pathologies (ICCARP), where he leads working groups dedicated to identifying and classifying ageing-related pathologies across multiple organ systems. His research integrates experimental neurobiology with collaborative efforts to improve the understanding of ageing and age-associated disease processes.
Barry L. Bentely
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Dr Barry L. Bentley is a reader (associate professor) in Bioengineering at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where he leads the Bioengineering Research Group. His research interests span ageing biology, biopreservation, and biomedical policy, with a particular focus on the application of engineering and computational approaches to biomedical challenges. He is also chair and co-founder of the International Consortium to Classify Ageing-Related Pathologies (ICCARP), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. He holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge, where he conducted research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.
James T. Murray
Swansea University
Dr. James T. Murray is a senior lecturer in aging and age-related diseases at Swansea University. His research focuses on the biological mechanisms that drive functional decline with age and contribute to age-related disease. He is particularly interested in the cellular and molecular hallmarks of aging, including senescence, and in developing interventions to promote healthy longevity. His work bridges fundamental aging biology with translational research, with an emphasis on identifying biomarkers of biological age and reducing disease burden in later life. Dr. Murray collaborates widely across the aging research community to characterize age-related pathologies across organ systems and develop shared frameworks for aging research. He is committed to advancing the methodologies and tools that support aging research.
Collection Overview
Populations around the globe are aging due to increased longevity and declining birth rates. Aging is accompanied by progressive cellular and molecular changes across all levels of biological organization, including both active processes, such as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and inactive processes, such as cell-cycle arrest. These alterations contribute to tissue dysfunction, physiological decline, and the development of age-related diseases. Understanding the biological mechanisms of aging and how they increase disease susceptibility is essential for improving quality of life in older adults and reducing the burden of age-related morbidity.
This Topical Collection welcomes submissions addressing the following key areas:
- Functional decline associated with aging, including age-related changes in any organ system and diseases that increase in prevalence with advancing age.
- Molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging, including the pathways that drive aging and contribute to age-related diseases.
- Methodologies, tools, and experimental models that advance the study and understanding of aging processes.
- Biological age assessment, including approaches for measuring and estimating biological age.
- Interventions targeting aging, including therapies that slow the aging process or reduce the impact of age-related diseases.
This Topical Collection aims to advance our understanding of the biological mechanisms of aging, their relationship to disease, and strategies to promote healthy longevity. We welcome original research articles, method articles, review articles, and opinion articles, in both written and video formats, that contribute to methodological advances, mechanistic insights, and the development of novel interventions in aging research.