The MitoCure lab, located in the Department of Nutrition and Public Health at Merrimack College, conducts basic research to advance our understanding of metabolic illnesses that come with aging.
Our MissionMitoCure Lab aims to identify and ameliorate the effects of aging through research on cell biology and targeted therapies. By deepening our understanding of how the breakdown of mitochondrial and other organelle functions leads to inflammation and affects the health of the entire human organism, MitoCure aspires to mitigate the aging process and extend the human health span.
Established in 2018, MitoCure is led by Leena Bharath, the Pasini Professor in Health Sciences at Merrimack College. The lab expands on Bharath’s research on “inflammaging,” the chronic state of inflammation that occurs when we age, which leads to conditions such as diabetes, obesity and immune cell aging.
The MitoCure Lab focuses on understanding aging at the cellular level. Our team is interested in understanding:
Emerging evidence shows a strong association between immune cell metabolism and its function. However, the mechanistic link between immune cell function and aging-associated changes in mitochondrial bioenergetics has not been explored and characterized thoroughly. Our recent findings show that the production of cytokines that are generally known to promote aging-associated diseases depends on the fuel-utilization pathways that the cells prefer. This finding stimulated our interest in studying “mitochondrial aging” and inflammation.
The Lab’s work on “inflammaging” and other research has been shared in a number of publications.
“The R15 grant is very special because it is specifically for training undergraduate students. The overarching goal of the grant is to encourage smaller colleges like ours to get access to more NIH funding and have greater opportunities to train students at the undergraduate level.”
- Leena Bharath, Principal Investigator, MitoCure Lab
MitoCure Lab
Merrimack College
Dept. of Nutrition & Public Health
O’Reilly Hall 406
315 Turnpike St.
North Andover, MA 01845
Phone: 978-837-3526
Email
Three students will make the trek from Hopkinton to Boston on April 17, preparation for which includes months of training and fundraising for important causes.
