Impact
Vera Gorbunova is the Doris Johns Cherry Professor of Biology and Medicine at the University of Rochester and co-director of the Rochester Aging Research Center, where she runs a laboratory with Andrei Seluanov. Her research examines the mechanisms of longevity and genome stability, with emphasis on exceptionally long-lived mammals. She pioneered a comparative-biology approach to ageing and identified rules that govern how tumour-suppressor mechanisms evolve with species lifespan and body mass. Her group identified high-molecular-weight hyaluronan as a key mediator of cancer resistance in the naked mole-rat, and has also studied the blind mole-rat, beavers and bats. She investigates how sirtuins, particularly SIRT6, maintain genome stability; her most-cited work includes a report that SIRT6 promotes DNA repair under stress by activating PARP1. It also includes a 2019 Nature paper showing that the retrotransposon L1 drives interferon responses in senescent cells and promotes age-associated inflammation. She trained at Saint Petersburg State University and the Weizmann Institute of Science. Her awards include the PNAS Cozzarelli Prize and support from the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Glenn Foundation and AFAR.
Metrics
- h-index 84 · google scholar as of 2026-09-23 source ↗
Research output
460 works · 27,464 citations · h-index 82 OpenAlex ↗
Selected publications
- Ten things you should know about transposable elements ↗ 2018 · 1,570 citations
- Ramucirumab plus docetaxel versus placebo plus docetaxel for second-line treatment of stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer after disease progression on platinum-based therapy (REVEL): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised phase 3 trial ↗ 2014 · 1,322 citations
- L1 drives IFN in senescent cells and promotes age-associated inflammation ↗ 2019 · 1,317 citations
- Pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (CLEOPATRA): end-of-study results from a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study ↗ 2020 · 936 citations
- SIRT6 Promotes DNA Repair Under Stress by Activating PARP1 ↗ 2011 · 883 citations
Research funding
39 NIH awards · USD 31M total NIH RePORTER ↗
- Comparative genomics of longevity and Alzheimer's disease National Institute on Aging · 2024 · USD 4M
- Comparative genomics of longevity and Alzheimer's disease National Institute on Aging · 2026 · USD 4M
- Comparative genomics of longevity and Alzheimer's disease National Institute on Aging · 2025 · USD 4M
- Comparative Genomics of Longevity National Institute on Aging · 2020 · USD 2M
- Comparative Genomics of Longevity National Institute on Aging · 2021 · USD 2M