How and why we age is one of the fastest-growing research fields in the western world. Aging is a complex biological process involving the gradual degeneration of vital cell processes leading to an increase in the incidence of pathogenesis, including carcinogenesis over time. Unlike all other macromolecules e.g. proteins, RNA or lipids and sugars, the nuclear DNA is irreplaceable and must be repaired when damaged.

Loss of genome maintenance may causally contribute to ageing, as exemplified by the premature appearance of multiple symptoms of ageing in a growing family of human syndromes and in mice with genetic defects in genome maintenance pathways. Loss of genome maintenance may causally contribute to ageing, as exemplified by the premature appearance of multiple symptoms of ageing in a growing family of human syndromes and in mice with genetic defects in genome maintenance pathways.

During his exciting speech titled “Why We Age: DNA Damage and Aging “, Professor George Garinis will highlight the latest developments on this fascinating field.

George Garinis received his PhD from the Medical School of the University of Athens (2001) and continued his postdoctoral research at Erasmus University in the Netherlands (2002-2008). In 2008, he was elected as Researcher C at IMBB-FORTH. In 2011 he was elected as associate professor and then as Professor at the Department of Biology of the University of Crete (2014). Since September 2020 he is the President of the Department of Biology at the University of Crete. He has received the EMBO Young Investigator Award, competitive ERC consolidator and ERC PoC funding, the “Fotis Kafatos” Biology Excellence Award and the “Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel” Research Award, while he has also coordinated a number of European research projects.

Speech title: Why We Age: DNA Damage and Aging || Date & time: Saturday 25, September, 12.30-13.00