Monica Driscoll Research Group

Rutgers University–New Brunswick

What allows an organism to stay healthy as it ages? Driscoll’s laboratory uses the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate mechanisms that maintain health and protect neurons. Research examines strategies involving genetics, chemicals, and exercise that might extend the period of healthy function. The group combines genetics, cell biology, genetic engineering, and imaging to study aging across molecular, cellular, and tissue scales. Its interests include neuronal protein maintenance and resistance to neurodegeneration, using an experimentally accessible animal to explore how biological systems manage age related decline.