Frontiers in Health Sciences -seminaari

Frontiers in Health Sciences seminar series continues with lecture by Associate Professor Evandro Fei Fang, PhD, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital, Norway.

The seminar is titled The ‘4As’: Ageing, Alzheimer, Autophagy, and Artificial Intelligence and will be held in English.

The seminar is organized by the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland and the event is open to everyone interested. Welcome!

Abstract:
Increased lifespan enables people to live longer, but not necessarily healthier lives. Ageing is arguably the highest risk factor for numerous human diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD); thus understanding the molecular mechanisms of human aging holds the promise of developing interventional and therapeutic strategies for many diseases simultaneously, promoting healthy longevity. Accumulation of damaged mitochondria is a hallmark of aging and age-related AD. However, the molecular mechanisms of impaired mitochondrial homeostasis and their relationship to AD are still elusive. Mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) is the cellular self-clearing process that removes damaged and superfluous mitochondria, and therefore plays a fundamental role in maintaining neuronal homeostasis and survival. We hypothesise that age-susceptible defective mitophagy causes accumulation of damaged mitochondria, which in combination with the two AD-defining pathologies, Aβ plaques and tau tangles, further exacerbates AD onset and progression. Restoration of mitophagy, through pharmaceutical (e.g., NAD+, passion fruit components, and urolithin A) and genetic approaches, forestalls pathology and cognitive decline in mouse models of AD and improves neuronal function in AD iPSC-derived neurons. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to propel drug screening, as well as being used for drug design specifically targeting AD and ageing pathways. The Evandro Fang lab is now involved in several clinical trials looking into the use of NAD+ precursors to treat AD and premature ageing diseases, among others.

For more information, please contact Coordinator of the Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine - DPMM, Tiia Turunen, dpmm@uef.fi.