Longevity Research for Humans and Dogs

Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador and founder of Bioquark, interviews Dr. Andrei Gudkov, PhD, DSci, pre-eminent cancer researcher who serves as Senior Vice President, Research Technology and Innovation, Chair of the Department of Cell Stress Biology, and a member of the senior leadership team for National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Support Grant at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Ira Pastor comments:

As we continue on our path through the topics of the diseases of aging and healthy longevity, we are going to take a fascinating journey upstream from many of the hallmarks and forms of damage found in aging tissues, to one of the very interesting drivers of aging processes, namely the RetroElement space (termed the “retrobiome” by our guest).

The retrobiome comprises a considerable fraction of eukaryotic genome, which for a long time was overlooked as “junk DNA”, but in recent years is now realized to have important influence on genome functioning, and where inappropriate activation can serve as an internal clock mechanism determining aging and chronic disease progression.

Dr. Andrei Gudkov

Dr. Andrei Gudkov, PhD, DSci, is a pre-eminent cancer researcher who serves as Senior Vice President, Research Technology and Innovation, Chair of the Department of Cell Stress Biology, and a member of the senior leadership team for National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Support Grant at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Longevity Research to Increase Lifespans in Humans

Dr. Gudkov is responsible for building on the basic and translational research strengths of the Cell Stress Biology program in DNA damage and repair, photodynamic therapy, thermal and hypoxic stress and immune modulation.

Dr. Gudkov assists the President and CEO at Roswell Park in developing and implementing strategic plans for new scientific programs and to enhance collaborations in research programs with regional and national academic centers as well as with industry.

Increasing Lifespan in Humans and Dogs

Before joining Roswell Park, Dr. Gudkov served as chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics at Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Professor of biochemistry at Case Western University. He earned his doctoral degree in Experimental Oncology at the Cancer Research Center, USSR and a Doctorate of Science (D.Sci) in Molecular Biology at the Moscow State University, USSR.

Dr Andrei Gudkov Pre-eminent Cancer Researcher

He has authored or co-authored 135 scientific articles and holds 27 patents. Dr. Gudkov is also a serial entrepreneur who founded Cleveland BioLabs, Inc., OncoTartis LLC and Everon Biosciences, Inc. He holds the position of Director & Chief Scientific Advisor at Panacela Labs, Inc., Chief Scientific Officer of OncoTartis LLC, Chief Scientific Officer for Everon Biosciences, Inc., Chief Science Officer at Genome Protection, Inc. and Chief Scientific Officer of Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. Andrei V. Gudkov is also on the board of Incuron LLC.

The Vaika Program to Increase Lifespan of Dogs and Other Domestic Animals

Dr. Gudkov is also on the Scientific Advisory Board and author of founding concept for the Vaika program, which is a not-for-profit charitable medical research organization with a mission to extend the healthspan and lifespan of domestic animals, via a novel clinical study using aged sled dogs.

On this ideaXme episode we will hear from Dr. Gudkov about:

His background and how he developed an interest in oncology, in molecular biology, in aging, and the study of the retrobiome. A history of retrobiome research in the scientific community. The concept of treating aging by counteracting intrinsic DNA damage and immunosenescence and retrobiome vaccination. His oncology/cancer research program. About the Vaika program — a clinical study in aged sled dogs in order to test whether inhibition of retrobiome will be beneficial for dogs’ healthspan and longevity.

This interview is in American English