Anna Salazar
Christopher Newport University, VA·Biology
As people age, the gut lining becomes leakier. This loss of barrier function has been linked to declining health and earlier death in many organisms, including humans.
- Fields
Biology
Neuroscience
Microbiology & Immunology
- Topics
aging
intestinal barrier
gut-brain axis
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Test whether age-related breakdown of the gut barrier drives aging changes in the brain and muscle, using fruit flies with reduced levels of the gut seal protein Snakeskin.
- Examine how gut leakiness, disrupted gut bacteria and inflammation relate to protein clumping and neurodegeneration in fly disease models, using cellular and molecular methods.
- Determine whether strengthening the gut barrier, for example by increasing Snakeskin levels in the gut, delays or reverses aging effects outside the gut and extends lifespan.
More about the research
With the number of people over 65 expected to exceed 1.57 billion by 2050, it matters whether a failing gut speeds up aging elsewhere in the body, including the brain diseases associated with aging, such as Alzheimer's disease. The lab studies the microbiota-gut-brain axis, the communication between gut bacteria, the gut and the brain.
Why it matters
Intestinal seal proteins such as Snakeskin may be useful targets for promoting longevity in mammals. Learning whether a stronger gut barrier can delay aging in the brain and muscle could inform future therapies for age-related decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, in a rapidly aging population.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
David Durgan
Baylor College of Medicine, TX·Physiology
Identify which gut bacteria produce extracellular vesicles that raise blood pressure, using a dilution scheme to simplify bacterial communities, and test the roles of vesicle flagellin and lipopolysaccharide.
Andrew Pickering
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX·Biology
Determine whether the mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP4b, which lets mitochondria release energy as heat, is required and sufficient for cold-induced lifespan extension and redox balance in Drosophila, using genetic manipulation.
Ronald J. Ellis
University of California-San Diego, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Characterize how gut bacteria and the endocannabinoid system respond to controlled oral THC and CBD in people with and without HIV, using shotgun metagenomic sequencing of stool.
The school
Christopher Newport University: 2 labs on PI Pages, $4M a year on research.
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