My laboratory’s interest in aging biology arose out of our observation that reactive oxygen species (ROS) could act as endogenous signaling molecules (Sunderesan, et al., Science, 1995). In that initial study, we showed that cells could purposively produce hydrogen peroxide as part of normal receptor-mediated physiological signaling. We, and others, subsequently firmly established this paradigm, and thereby dispelled the widely held notion that oxidants (i.e. free radicals) function within cells solely as stochastic and random damaging agents. These observations may us reevaluate the free radical theory of aging, which at the time was the prevailing explanation as to why we age. This has led us to broadly evaluate how changes in mitochondrial function and metabolism might regulate the aging process. Currently, we are focused on questions involving autophagy, mitochondrial calcium regulation, lysosomal integrity,and senescence. I am also working with my colleagues Bill Chen and Yuan Liu to develop novel therapeutics for a range of age-related diseases. Several of our small molecules are currently in clinical development or clinical trials.
- BS, Physics, University of Maryland, 1979
- MD, Harvard Medical School, 1986
- PhD, Biophysics, Harvard University School of Arts & Sciences, 1986
- Residency, Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 1989
- Fellowship, Cardiology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1992
Education & Training
Sundaresan M, Yu ZX, Ferrans VJ, Irani K, Finkel T. Requirement for generation of H2O2 for platelet-derived growth factor signal transduction. Science. 1995; 270: 296-299.
Hill JM, Zalos G, Halcox JP, Schenke WH, Waclawiw MA, Quyyumi AA, Finkel T. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells, vascular function, and cardiovascular risk. New England Journal of Medicine. 2003; 348: 593-600.
Nemoto S, Fergusson MM, Finkel T. Nutrient availability regulates SIRT1 through a forkhead-dependent pathway. Science. 2004; 306: 2105-2108.
Liu H, Fergusson MM, Castilho RM, Liu J, Cao L, chen J, Malide D, Rovira II, Schimel D, Kuo CJ, Gutkind JS, Hwang PM, Finkel T. Augmented Wnt signaling in a mammalian model of accelerated aging. Science. 2007; 317: 803-806.
Liu J, Cao L, Chen J, Song S, Lee IH, Quijano C, Liu H, Kenvanfar K, Chen H, Cao LY, Ahn BH, Kumar NG, Rovira II, Xu XL, van Lohuizen M, Motoyama N, Deng CX, Finkel T. Bmi1 regulates mitochondrial function and the DNA damage response pathway. Nature. 2009; 459: 387-392.
Nemoto S, Finkel T. Redox regulation of forkhead proteins through a p66shc-dependent signaling pathway. Science. 2002; 295: 2450-2452.
Tan, JX, Finkel T. A phosphoinositide signaling pathway mediates rapid lysosomal repair. Nature. 2022; 609: 815-821.
Torisu T, Torisu K, Lee IH, Liu J, Malide D, Combs CA, Komatsu M, Cao L, Finkel T. Autophagy regulates endothelial cell processing, maturation, and secretion of von Willebrand factor. Nature Medicine. 2013; 19: 1281-1287.
Lee IH, Kawai Y, Fergusson MM, Rovira II, Bishop AJR, Motoyama N, Cao L, Finkel T. Atg7 modulates p53 activity to regulate cell cycle and survival during metabolic stress. Science. 2012; 336: 225-228.
Sun N, Yun J, Malide D, Liu C, Rovira II, Holmstrom KM, Fergusson MM, Yoo YH, Combs CA, Finkel T. Measuring In vivo Mitophagy. Molecular Cell. 2015; 60(4): 685-696.
- Elected, American Society for Clinical Research, 2002
- Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar in Aging Award, 2006-2010
- Elected, Association of American Physicians, 2009
- Elected, Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2013
- NHLBI Director's Award-Outstanding Translational Science, 2015
- NHLBI Orloff Innovation Award, 2016
- Elected, National Academy of Medicine, 2020
- Distinguished Professor, Cardiology and Gerontology, 2020
