Director’s greeting
The Autophagy and Anti-Aging Research Center was established in April 2024 at Nara Medical University.
The Center promotes cutting-edge research on aging, with a particular focus on autophagy, an intracellular degradation system. The work performed at the Center will lead to new advances that increase human longevity and decrease aging-related diseases.
Towards this end, the Center will promote close collaboration between basic and clinical research.
We will also establish partnerships with industry and researchers outside the university to position the Center as an international leader in autophagy and aging research that promotes the health of local residents and the general public.
We look forward to your support and collaboration with the Center.
About the research center
Currently, 29% of Japan’s population is 65 years of age or older. In this rapidly aging society, extending healthy life expectancy is an important issue from the perspective of improving the quality of life of individuals and reducing the burden on social security. Under these circumstances, there is an urgent need to elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying aging in order to develop effective anti-aging therapies.
Against this background, Nara Medical University established the Autophagy and Anti-Aging Research Center on April 1, 2024 to promote research focusing on “autophagy,” which is a key biological process involved in extending healthy life expectancy. Autophagy is an intracellular degradation and recycling system that exists in many living organisms, such as yeast, plants, and animals, including humans (Figure 1). Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on autophagy (Figure 1).
If we can monitor and freely activate autophagy, we may be able to prevent or delay aging and extend healthy life expectancy. However, a lack of knowledge about the process of autophagy in humans currently represents a bottleneck in realizing these goals (Figure 2).
The Center, under the leadership of Professor Shuhei Nakamura of the Department of Biochemistry, who is an expert in analyzing the relationship between autophagy and aging, will leverage the strengths of the School of Medicine to collaborate with various basic and clinical departments and companies to conduct a variety of joint research projects to overcome these challenges and develop new anti-aging treatments leveraging the process of autophagy.
Access
Basic Medicine Bldg 2F,
Nara Medical University,
840, Shijo-cho, Kashihara,
Nara 634-8521, Japan
TEL:0744-22-3051(EXT:2228)