Impact
Anne Brunet is a professor of genetics at Stanford University who studies the molecular mechanisms of aging and longevity, with an emphasis on the nervous system. Her laboratory examines how external cues such as nutrient availability and mates influence aging, and how old stem cells, notably the regenerative stem cell pools of the brain, can be rejuvenated, with the aim of reversing features of brain aging and preventing cognitive decline. Earlier work addressed energy- and nutrient-sensing pathways, including FOXO transcription factors and AMPK in dietary-restriction-induced longevity. Her group showed that chromatin modifiers influence lifespan and reported that lifespan extension by chromatin modifiers can be inherited transgenerationally. Brunet's laboratory also developed the naturally short-lived African turquoise killifish as a vertebrate model for aging research, assembling its genome and building a CRISPR/Cas9 pipeline, and has used it to identify candidate genes behind vertebrate lifespan differences and to study 'suspended animation' states. Her recognition includes two NIH Director's Pioneer Awards (2012, 2025), the FNIH Lurie Prize (2022), the NOMIS Award (2023) and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2025).
Metrics
- h-index 99 · google scholar as of 2026-09-23 source ↗
Research output
253 works · 52,729 citations · h-index 92 OpenAlex ↗
Selected publications
- Akt Promotes Cell Survival by Phosphorylating and Inhibiting a Forkhead Transcription Factor ↗ 1999 · 6,634 citations
- Cellular survival: a play in three Akts ↗ 1999 · 4,246 citations
- Stress-Dependent Regulation of FOXO Transcription Factors by the SIRT1 Deacetylase ↗ 2004 · 3,268 citations
- Geroscience: Linking Aging to Chronic Disease ↗ 2014 · 2,844 citations
- Cell Survival Promoted by the Ras-MAPK Signaling Pathway by Transcription-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms ↗ 1999 · 1,931 citations
Research funding
45 NIH awards · USD 39M total NIH RePORTER ↗
- Discovery of protein aggregates during vertebrate aging and neurodegeneration National Institute on Aging · 2017 · USD 4M
- Brain-wide screen for a neural pacemaker of aging National Institute on Aging · 2018 · USD 3M
- Brain-wide screen for a neural pacemaker of aging National Institute on Aging · 2019 · USD 3M
- Brain-wide screen for a neural pacemaker of aging National Institute on Aging · 2020 · USD 3M
- Brain-wide screen for a neural pacemaker of aging National Institute on Aging · 2021 · USD 3M