Why ageing research?

Increasing life expectancy means that many countries now have more elderly people than ever before. The elderly are also at higher risk of many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease or Alzheimer's disease. This poses enormous challenges, both for individuals and society. 

Not all elderly people become ill however - some are more resilient and remain healthy and fit, even into old age. We still do not understand why some people age rapidly and are chronically ill, while others are resilient and never have any serious illnesses, living to be centenarians.

Our goal is to help everyone reach old age in good health. To do this, we work to understand the basic molecular mechanisms that cause ageing and age-related diseases. We then use these findings to identify preventative strategies to promote healthy ageing and treatments that could prevent or cure age-related disease.