Anne Brunet

Honors and Awards

• Senior Scholar Award, Ellison Medical Foundation (2009-2013)
• Junior Investigator Award, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) (2008-2013)
• Innovation in Aging Research Award, Pfizer/American Association for Aging Research (2005-2007)
• Klingenstein Fellow, The Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund (2005-2008)
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, Sloan Foundation (2006-2008)

Professional Education

Postdoctoral Advisees

Berenice Benayoun,  Chi-Kuo Hu,  Salah Mahmoudi,  Elena Mancini,  Travis Maures,  Victoria Rafalski,  Ashley Webb

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Cancer Biology
• Genetics
• Neurosciences

Internet Links

• Brunet Lab Home Page

Current Research Interests

The overarching goal of our lab is to understand the genetic mechanisms of aging and longevity. Aging is a highly plastic process regulated by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

We have a long-standing interest in the genetic pathway that connects insulin to FOXO transcription factors, a central pathway to regulate lifespan from worms to humans. We use a combination of genetic, molecular, and cellular approaches to analyze the regulation and importance of FOXO transcription factors, and more generally 'longevity genes' in mammals. We are particularly interested in the role of longevity genes in the maintenance of the pool of adult neural stem cells and intact cognitive function during aging. We also use ultra-high throughput sequencing technologies to study epigenetic changes and transcriptional networks during aging.

In parallel, our goal is to identify novel ‘longevity genes’ using short-lived animal models. Our lab uses unbiased approaches in the nematode C. elegans to identify novel pathways that control organismal longevity, particularly in response to dietary restriction. We are particularly interested in the role of chromatin modifiers in the regulation of lifespan and metabolism.

Finally, we are developing the extremely short-lived African killifish N. furzeri as a new vertebrate model for aging studies. We are taking advantage of this fish to explore the genetic architecture of longevity in vertebrates.

Publications

• Chemical genetic screen for AMPKα2 substrates uncovers a network of proteins involved in mitosis. Banko MR, Allen JJ, Schaffer BE, Wilker EW, Tsou P, White JL, Villén J, Wang B, Kim SR, Sakamoto K, Gygi SP, Cantley LC, Yaffe MB, Shokat KM, Brunet A. Mol Cell. 2011; 44 (6): 878-92
• Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Greer EL, Maures TJ, Ucar D, Hauswirth AG, Mancini E, Lim JP, Benayoun BA, Shi Y, Brunet A. Nature. 2011; 479 (7373): 365-71
• Members of the H3K4 trimethylation complex regulate lifespan in a germline-dependent manner in C. elegans. Greer EL, Maures TJ, Hauswirth AG, Green EM, Leeman DS, Maro GS, Han S, Banko MR, Gozani O, Brunet A. Nature. 2010; 466 (7304): 383-7
• FoxO3 regulates neural stem cell homeostasis. Renault VM, Rafalski VA, Morgan AA, Salih DA, Brett JO, Webb AE, Villeda SA, Thekkat PU, Guillerey C, Denko NC, Palmer TD, Butte AJ, Brunet A. Cell Stem Cell. 2009; 5 (5): 527-39
• Histone methylation makes its mark on longevity. Han S, Brunet A. Trends Cell Biol. 2012; 22 (1): 42-9