Cologne Seminars on Ageing "Circadian Clocks and Their Impact on Metabolism, Aging and Longevity"

About Dr. Takahashi´s talk:
Genetic analysis of circadian behavior in mice has revealed that the molecular basis of circadian clocks involves an autoregulatory transcriptional network that oscillates with a 24-hour periodicity. In mammals, the discovery of “clock genes” led to the realization that circadian clocks are cell autonomous and are expressed in the majority of cells and tissues in the body. The master circadian pacemaker located in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus sits at the top of a hierarchy of oscillators in the body, but peripheral oscillators can and do respond to more proximal signals such as nutrients and metabolites. Thus, the “circadian system” in mammals is a multi-oscillatory hierarchy. In addition to controlling the timing of behavior and physiology, the clock gene network interacts directly with many other pathways in the cell. These include metabolism, immune function, cardiovascular function and cell growth to name a few. With respect to metabolism, the timing of nutrient consumption is critical, and we and others have shown that restricting the timing of feeding has many health benefits. The lecture will focus on the importance of circadian aligned feeding as a critical factor for aging, health span and longevity.

His scientific background and research interest
Joseph S. Takahashi, PhD is the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience, Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He joined UT Southwestern in 2009. His research interests are the molecular mechanism of circadian clocks, neuroscience, and the genetic basis of behavior. Dr. Takahashi pioneered the use of genetics in the mouse as a tool for discovery of genes underlying neurobiology and behavior, and his discovery of the mouse and human Clock genes led to a description of a conserved circadian clock mechanism in animals.