Telomeres as a Measure of Health and Aging: A Conversation with Elissa Epel
By Jeffrey NorrisJuly 10, 2009
Nobody’s getting any younger. But as we age, what are the biological reasons one person looks older than another person of the exact same chronological age? More important, beneath the skin, what biological differences tell us the most about who is most likely to live the longest and healthiest?
Elissa Epel
UCSF clinical psychologist Elissa Epel, PhD, is searching for better gauges to measure and make predictions about biological health and aging. Epel and her UCSF colleagues are finding that, as a predictor of health and aging, a comparatively obscure enzyme called telomerase might eclipse the importance much more famous molecules – cholesterol, for instance. Telomerase acts on DNA at the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres. Telomeres might be a link between stress, diseases associated with aging and aging itself, Epel believes. She is even exploring anti-aging therapies based on her research.
Photo by Susan Merrell
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Last modified: August 3, 2009
