Impact
Thomas Rando is a neurologist and stem cell biologist who directs the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, which he joined in 2021 after a long faculty career at Stanford, where he was founding director of the Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging and deputy director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. His laboratory is credited with pioneering the use of heterochronic parabiosis to study stem cell ageing, showing that factors in the blood of young animals can promote stem cell activity and tissue repair in old animals while factors in old blood suppress it. This work helped establish systemic-environment approaches in ageing research and has led to clinical trials of interventions for age-related conditions. His group also studies the molecular regulation of stem cell quiescence, epigenetic changes in ageing stem cells, the effects of exercise on aged stem cells, and bioengineering approaches for muscle repair and muscular dystrophies. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles. Honours include an NIH Director's Pioneer Award, an NIH Transformative Research Award and AFAR's Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award; he is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Metrics
- h-index 110 · google scholar as of 2026-09-23 source ↗
Research output
305 works · 49,941 citations · h-index 100 OpenAlex ↗
Selected publications
- Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span ↗ 2019 · 4,949 citations
- Geroscience: Linking Aging to Chronic Disease ↗ 2014 · 2,844 citations
- Rejuvenation of aged progenitor cells by exposure to a young systemic environment ↗ 2005 · 2,312 citations
- The ageing systemic milieu negatively regulates neurogenesis and cognitive function ↗ 2011 · 1,806 citations
- Increased Wnt Signaling During Aging Alters Muscle Stem Cell Fate and Increases Fibrosis ↗ 2007 · 1,581 citations
Research funding
21 NIH awards · USD 15M total NIH RePORTER ↗
- Molecular Regulation of Stem Cell Aging National Institute on Aging · 2024 · USD 3M
- Molecular Regulation of Stem Cell Aging National Institute on Aging · 2026 · USD 2M
- Molecular Regulation of Stem Cell Aging National Institute on Aging · 2025 · USD 2M
- Molecular Regulation of Stem Cell Aging National Institute on Aging · 2024 · USD 661K
- Molecular Regulation of Stem Cell Aging National Institute on Aging · 2026 · USD 655K