BTI’s Postgraduate Society invites you to attend the next virtual Distinguished Lecture featuring Dr. Dario Valenzano from the Max-Planck-Institute for the Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany.
The Valenzano Lab investigates the evolutionary genetic basis of vertebrate lifespan and ageing. Their main model system is the African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius), which is the shortest lived vertebrate species bred in captivity.
Ageing progresses very rapidly in this fish, and is characterized by cancer, pigment loss, and age-dependent deterioration in motor and learning skills. To identify the genomic regions associated with survival and ageing, and to study their evolution, the lab uses a combination of approaches, including linkage mapping, transgenesis, population genetics on wild killifish populations, and computer simulations.