Leonard Guarente, PhD
Chief Scientist
Dr. Guarente is the Novartis Professor of Biology at MIT, where he has taught and run his lab for more than 40 years. His research has focused on the genetic and molecular basis of aging—first in model organisms and now in humans.
Dr. Guarente is best known for his research on the role of sirtuins, a class of proteins that play a key role in regulating metabolic systems. In particular, Dr. Guarente was the first to identify SIR2 as the gene that controls aging in yeast cells, and to show that SIR2 and related proteins function as NAD+ dependent enzymes—the first link between NAD+ and aging. The mammalian version of SIR2, SIRT1 (and its associated proteins), has since been shown by Dr. Guarente and others to play a key role in longevity and metabolic function in mammals. Human studies have begun to show that dietary supplements that raise NAD+ levels exert similar effects in aging humans.
Dr. Guarente’s lab is currently focused on a protein involved in muscle repair termed dysferlin, which is defective in a category of muscular dystrophies. Chemical chaperones have been identified that can rescue missense mutations in dysferlin. These molecules will be tested for prolongation of muscle health in normal aging.
Dr. Guarente holds a B.S. from MIT and a Ph.D. from Harvard.