UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing
Academic
About
The UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing (IHA) is a biology-of-ageing research institute in University College London's Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, housed in the Darwin Building. It grew out of the UCL Centre for Research on Ageing (2003) and was established in 2007 under Linda Partridge with Wellcome Trust support. Its research uses short-lived model organisms (fission yeast, C. elegans, Drosophila and short-lived fish) to identify conserved genes and mechanisms that set the rate of ageing, and tests dietary and pharmacological interventions such as rapamycin and trametinib. Groups cover transcriptional regulation, genome regulation, metabolism, proteostasis and neurodegeneration, including fly models of dementia and Parkinson's disease. Since 2019 it has been led by Jürg Bähler (Director) and David Gems (Research Director); UCL states the aim of integrating ageing and age-related disease research across the university is not yet achieved.
Rating breakdown
Aggregate 49/100 · rank #17 in the academic & non-profit table full ratings →
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Publications100
- Linda Partridge — h-index 148 source ↗
- David Gems — h-index 72 source ↗
- Nazif Alic — h-index 30 source ↗
- Mechanisms of life span extension by rapamycin in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Bjedov et al., Cell Metabolism 2010) ↗
- The Ras-Erk-ETS-signaling pathway is a drug target for longevity (Slack et al., Cell 2015; trametinib extends fly lifespan) ↗
- RNA polymerase III limits longevity downstream of TORC1 (Filer et al., Nature 2017) ↗
- C. elegans eats its own intestine to make yolk leading to multiple senescent pathologies (Ezcurra et al., Current Biology 2018) ↗
- Long-lasting geroprotection from brief rapamycin treatment in early adulthood by persistently increased intestinal autophagy (Juricic et al., Partridge group, Nature Aging 2022) ↗
Discovery0
No geroprotective trials, assets or deals recorded.
Fundraising0
No public financial records found.
Education21
- David Gems public communicator
- David Gems ARDD speaker source ↗
- Nazif Alic ARDD speaker source ↗
Key outputs
- publication Mechanisms of life span extension by rapamycin in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Bjedov et al., Cell Metabolism 2010) ↗ 2010
- publication The Ras-Erk-ETS-signaling pathway is a drug target for longevity (Slack et al., Cell 2015; trametinib extends fly lifespan) ↗ 2015
- publication RNA polymerase III limits longevity downstream of TORC1 (Filer et al., Nature 2017) ↗ 2017
- publication C. elegans eats its own intestine to make yolk leading to multiple senescent pathologies (Ezcurra et al., Current Biology 2018) ↗ 2018
- publication Long-lasting geroprotection from brief rapamycin treatment in early adulthood by persistently increased intestinal autophagy (Juricic et al., Partridge group, Nature Aging 2022) ↗ 2022
- publication Lithium promotes longevity through GSK3/NRF2-dependent hormesis (Castillo-Quan et al., Partridge/Bjedov groups, Cell Reports 2016; drug repurposing in Drosophila) ↗ 2016
- publication The hyperfunction theory: an emerging paradigm for the biology of aging (Gems, Ageing Research Reviews 2022) ↗ 2022
- publication TORC1 signaling inhibition by rapamycin and caffeine affect lifespan, global gene expression, and cell proliferation of fission yeast (Rallis, Codlin & Bähler, Aging Cell 2013) ↗ 2013
Registered clinical trials
4 trials list this organisation as lead sponsor ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
- Algal Lutein Against Decline of Intellectual Nimbleness ↗ NA · NOT_YET_RECRUITING · 2026-05-01
- Transcranial Pulse Stimulation for Alzheimer's Disease ↗ PHASE2 · RECRUITING · 2025-07-21
- Personalised Medicine in the Identification of Preclinical Cognitive Impairment. Development of a Predictive Risk Model ↗ UNKNOWN · 2023-11-01
- Primary Care Clinician Commitments to Choosing Wisely® ↗ NA · COMPLETED · 2014-09
Investment & funding
| Date | Type | Amount | Detail | Counterparties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | grant | undisclosed | UCL publicly disclosed Wellcome Trust Strategic Award support for establishing the IHA, including infrastructure for its Darwin Building space (2007); amount not stated | Wellcome Trust |
Key people
Research fields
Links
Sources
- https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/iha
- https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/iha/history
- https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/iha/research-strategy-and-groups
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/9759-linda-partridge
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/2485-david-gems
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/195-nazif-alic
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/2599-j%C3%BCrg-b%C3%A4hler
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2009.11.010
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.06.023
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25007
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.035
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/10436-lazaros-foukas
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/17599-kerri-kinghorn
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/61349-john-labbadia
- https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/30172-teresa-niccoli
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00278-w
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.03.041
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.101557
- https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12080