UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – It's no secret that cells change with age; however, researchers at the University of Utah found that amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, may be a trigger for cell modifications.
Adam Hughes, Dana Carrol Endowed Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah, is set to share insights from his lab’s research on the role of metabolism and organelle - the tiny structures in cells - health in aging. Hughes will kick off the Huck Distinguished Lectures in Life Sciences with "Metabolic Mayhem: Unraveling Connections Between Metabolite Toxicity and Age-Related Organelle Decline," on Sept. 9, at 4 p.m. in 100 Life Sciences Building at University Park.
Aging is marked by a breakdown in the dynamic, interconnected network of cellular organelles, but the causes of this decline remain poorly understood. In this talk, Hughes will discuss their lab’s recent work focused on how amino acids, while essential for life, can become potent drivers of organelle decline during aging. His team recently found that when some organelles lose their ability to properly organize amino acids during aging, these metabolites trigger iron imbalance, mitochondrial stress, and a cascade of cellular dysfunction. He will discuss how this work revealed an underappreciated driver of age-related disease.
Hughes received his doctorate from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine under the direction of Peter Espenshade in 2008, and completed his postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in the lab of Dan Gottschling in 2014. Currently, Hughes is the Dana Carroll Endowed Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah, where his lab focuses on understanding the interplay between metabolism and organelle homeostasis in aging. Hughes’ work has been recognized by several awards, including a Helen Way Whitney Postdoc Fellowship, a K99/R00 grant from the National Institutes of Health, a Searle Scholars Award and a Glenn Award for Aging Research.