Experto en perfiles de medios
Envejecimiento
Jan Vijg, Ph.D.
- Profesor del Departamento de Genética
- Professor, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
- Chair, Department of Genetics
- Lola and Saul Kramer Chair in Molecular Genetics
Areas of Expertise
Resumen del experto
El Dr. Vijg estudia los cambios genéticos moleculares asociados con el envejecimiento. La inestabilidad del genoma y el epigenoma (el conjunto completo de genes de un organismo y los interruptores que controlan su actividad) se ha considerado desde hace tiempo la principal causa del cáncer y de la pérdida de la función de órganos y tejidos asociada con el envejecimiento.
Dr. Vijg’s research team was the first to develop a transgenic animal model for studying how mutations in human genes affect aging in a living organism. Since then, he has developed new versions of this mouse model that aid researchers in monitoring ongoing changes in DNA in different tissues or during various developmental stages over the course of the lifespan. Currently, Dr. Vijg uses next-generation sequencing to directly quantify and characterize mutations and epimutations in cells and tissues of aging organisms. An important component of these studies is the development of new methods for analyzing genome and epigenome in single cells to better understand intra-tissue heterogeneity during aging and in relation to cancer.