HealthAge ETN focuses on a series of relatively short-term research aims that are achievable within the time course of the Action.
The research aims are centred to 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs; PhD Studentships) and are structured into three functionally-linked thematic areas (Figure 3):
- Functional insights into lifespan regulation mechanisms (WP4).
- Longevity assurance pathways in development and disease (WP5).
- Novel approaches against age-related diseases and progeria (WP6)
Interconnectivity among research themes: The first research thematic area (WP4) focuses on dissecting the functional relevance of lifespan regulation mechanisms to fundamental metabolic circuits in distinct model organisms and on identifying opportunities for translating this knowledge towards new therapeutic strategies for human diseases e.g. devise nutraceuticals and chemical approaches for rationalized therapeutic intervention strategies. This research line is closely linked through established and newly formed collaborations with the second thematic area (WP5) aimed at delineating the causal contribution of longevity assurance pathways to developmental abnormalities and age-related pathological features in patients and associated animal models with progeria and during natural ageing. The third thematic area (WP6) is fully integrated with thematic areas I and II and will provide the action with strategies aimed at counteracting age-related diseases as well as tools for high-throughput screening approaches and bioinformatics working pipelines.