Anne Brunet awarded 2022 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences

Anne Brunet was awarded the 2022 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences for her efforts to understand the mechanism of aging.

- By Hanae Armitage

Anne Brunet

Anne Brunet, PhD, professor of genetics at Stanford Medicine and the Michele and Timothy Barakett Endowed Professor, has won the 2022 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences for her pioneering research in the mechanisms of aging.

The Lurie Prize, awarded annually for the past 10 years, recognizes researchers who are 52 or younger. The award, which comes with an honorarium of $50,000, will support Brunet’s investigation into age-related diseases and the mystery of why we age.

“It’s exciting to bring different organisms and approaches together to understand aging,” said Brunet, a member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. “It’s fascinating to be able to use different strategies — from observational to interventional and mechanistic — to make discoveries on the mechanisms of aging.”

Brunet aims to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms that convert a young, healthy individual into one who is older, frail and more susceptible to disease. One of her points of interest is the “aging clock,” a compilation of the processes that underlie how the body changes. She and her team are researching how aging can be influenced by environmental stimuli such as diet, sexual interactions and exercise. One of their big questions: Can aspects of aging be slowed or even reversed?

Brunet’s team studies aging in a variety of animals — from roundworms and mice to the African killifish, whose short lifespan and ability to exist in a state called diapause (a form of “suspended animation” like hibernation) make it a prime candidate to reveal basic mechanisms of lifespan and aging.

She hopes that her research will fuel an understanding of how to delay the diseases of aging.

Brunet shares the award with Andrew Dillin, PhD, a professor of molecular and cell biology at UC-Berkeley.

The Lurie Prize is made possible by a donation to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health by philanthropist Ann Lurie, president of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation and of Lurie Holdings Inc.

About Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients. For more information, please visit med.stanford.edu.

2023 ISSUE 3

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