Aging Center Affiliates

George A. Kuchel, MD is Professor, Chief of Geriatrics and Director of the UConn Center on Aging at the University of Connecticut in Farmington CT where he also holds the Travelers Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology. Dr Kuchel’s research has focused on translational approaches to common geriatric syndromes and chronic diseases, with a particular emphasis on the development of geroscience-guided interventions into aging- and disease-related declines in immune responses to vaccines, mobility, cognition and bladder control. Among other funded ongoing projects, Dr Kuchel is multiple PI of the NIA Translational Geroscience Network and member of the leadership team for the TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin) clinical trial. 

The goal of Dr. Sutphin’s research is to identify and characterize novel molecular mechanisms of aging. The Sutphin lab employs a comparative systems genetics pipeline that leverages the unique strengths of three model systems—humans, mice, and roundworms—to identify novel genetic and environmental factors that contribute to aging across animal species that can be beneficially targeted to extend healthy lifespan and treat age-associated disease. Our current focus is on three major areas: (1) developing automated methods to increase throughput and reproducibility of survival analysis in roundworms, (2) identifying the mechanisms underlying lifespan extension from interventions targeting tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism in mice and roundworms, and (3) understanding how animals respond when challenged with multiple, simultaneous forms of cellular stress.