Molecular Physiology of Aging
Dudley Lamming, PhD, is a federally funded investigator whose research aims to harness nutrient-responsive signaling pathways to promote health and longevity. Understanding and manipulating these pathways through dietary, pharmaceutical or genetic interventions may provide insight into the treatment of age-related diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.
Research Overview
Dr. Lamming's lab discovered that low-protein diets promote metabolic health—improving blood sugar control and reducing adiposity—in humans and mice, and has identified dietary branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) as key regulators of these effects. His team currently studies the mechanisms that mediate these beneficial effects in mice and humans, with the goal of identifying interventions to promote healthy aging and to treat or prevent diabetes and obesity.
A key molecular focus of the lab is the mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR), an amino acid- and insulin-responsive protein kinase that is a central regulator of metabolism and aging. Dr. Lamming's lab investigates the role of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR Complex 2 (mTORC2) in metabolism, health, and longevity.
The lab is also examining the ability of geroprotective interventions to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease using mouse models.
Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in Age-Related Disease
Left: Diagram showing how lifelong restriction of the dietary branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine has sex-specific benefits for metabolic health and life span in mice.