Functional Proteomics of Aging

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Abstract/Summary A group of investigators at the University of Minnesota seeks to renew “Functional Proteomics of Aging”, a Training Program that helps exceptional young scientists develop the intellectual and technical tools needed for productive careers as independent investigators and educators in aging research. The program has supported annually 4 predoctoral and 2 postdoctoral trainees. The Training Program is in its 10th year of funding and has trained 16 predoctoral and 9 postdoctoral trainees, who have successful careers. In addition to the research conducted in the mentor’s laboratory, trainees receive didactic (4 courses, 2 workshops) and experiential training in gerontology and proteomics (conferences, seminars, symposia, journal clubs, group meetings with Program faculty members, and a new visitorship program to Nathan Shock Centers). The experiential training is designed to maximize interaction among trainees and Training faculty from multiple labs and with scientists involved in aging research outside the U of MN. Faculty mentors draw trainees from six graduate programs at the University of Minnesota: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics (BMBB), Chemistry (Chem), Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP), Integrative Biology and Physiology (IBP) and Neuroscience (NSc), and Rehabilitation Sciences (RSc). The mentors’ research programs focus on the use proteomic and other advanced state-of-the-art technologies to reveal the molecular details behind the age- related loss in tissue function and/or age-related disease and are conceptually organized into four foci: loss of muscle function with age and disease, decline of the central nervous system with age and disease, the metabolism and signaling of aging and longevity, and development of technology for the advancement of aging research. Our research is supported by outstanding cores equipped with a variety of state-of-the-art mass spectrometers in the Center for Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics and bioinformatics platforms in the Minnesota Supercomputers Institute. Training faculty laboratories also contain specialized analytical equipment that is commonly shared between Program faculty. Together, the cadre of distinguished mentors, the extensive interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty and trainees of multiple departments, the technological resources, and the didactic and experiential training helps our trainees to shape successful careers.