Title: Aged‐senescent cells contribute to impaired heart regeneration

Abstract: Mammalian ageing is defined as a gradual loss of the capacity to maintain tissue homeostasis or to repair tissues after injury/stress. The adult heart is considered a post-mitotic organ, having a low cardiomyocyte turnover rate over the course of human lifespan, which decreases further with ageing. Accumulation of senescent cells in tissues, including the heart, with ageing and at etiological sites in multiple chronic diseases is detrimental, contributing to pathophysiology and deterioration.

 

Biography

I am a Professor of Regenerative Muscle Physiology and Marie Curie Fellow in the Centre of Human & Applied Physiological Sciences, King’s College London, UK. I am part of the Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London and the BHF National Centre for Regenerative Medicine. I have a BSc Sports Science (Physiology), First Class, and PhD entitled ‘Myocyte Death and Renewal in Skeletal and Cardiac Muscle’ supervised by Prof. David F. Goldspink, at Liverpool JM University. I carried out a post-doc (2003-2007), funded by the American Heart Association, in the lab of Dr Bernardo Nadal-Ginard at New York Medical College and then Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NYC, USA. I integrated back into the EU through a Marie Curie International Re-integration grant in 2008. I was a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader at Liverpool JM University (2007-2012) before locating to King’s College London in 2013.

My research focuses on understanding the role of tissue-specific stem cells in the homeostasis and regeneration of striated (skeletal and cardiac) muscle, for repair and maintenance of muscle tissue, particularly preventing and treating a loss of muscle mass (i.e. with ageing and/or disease). My research has been at the forefront of pioneering research on adult-derived cardiac stem cells since its inception and has made a seminal contribution in the paradigm-shifting work to establish the adult heart as a self-renewing organ with regenerative capacity. I have extensive expertise in cardiac stem cell biology and regeneration, including the development of novel animal models of muscle damage-regeneration.

 

Institutional Profile: Professor Georgina Ellison-Hughes (kcl.ac.uk)

 

A 'Tea with the Speaker' will follow this seminar, where Pathway 2/PGR staff and students are warmly encouraged to join in an informal discussion with the speaker following their talk. 

Professor Georgina Ellison-Hughes TedXRoyalTunbridgeWells