- Leonard P. Guarente
Leonard P. Guarente is an American
biologist best known for his research on life span extension in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. He is currently at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology where he is Novartis Professor of Biology.Guarente, along with graduate students Mitch McVey and
Matt Kaeberlein , reported in 1999 that increased activity of theSir2 protein slows aging in yeast mother cells. Sir2 is the founding member of theSirtuin family of enzymes. Guarente is recognized as the leading proponent of the hypothesis thatcaloric restriction slows aging by activation of Sirtuins. This hypothesis has been challenged by Kaeberlein and another former graduate student of Guarente's, Brian Kennedy, both of whom are professors at theUniversity of Washington .Leonard Guarente has written an autobiography titled "Ageless Quest: One Scientist's Search for Genes That Prolong Youth". The book was published in 2003 by Cold Spring Harbor Press.
ee also
*
Calorie restriction
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.