The University of Toledo College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is partnering with the SENS Research Foundation to launch an innovative program that will provide doctoral students studying biological sciences the opportunity to perform extended research in the field of anti-aging as they work toward their degree.
The California-based research institute will take on one UToledo doctoral student in each of the next five years. Students will be stationed at SENS’ headquarters, with the foundation covering their tuition, paying a stipend and working with them to develop their research skills as they complete their UToledo coursework remotely.
From left, Dr. Scott Molitor, interim vice provost for Academic Affairs; Dr. Song-Tao Liu, Department of Biological Sciences chair and professor; Dr. Emily Lillian Fishman, SENS Research Foundation director of Academic Affairs; Lisa Fabiny-Kiser, SENS Research Foundation CEO; and Dr. Marc Seigar, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
“We are thrilled to create this partnership with the SENS Research Foundation,” said Dr. Marc Seigar, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “Anti-aging is a burgeoning area of research, and SENS has expertise in the field beyond what we currently have at UToledo. The students who participate in this are going to be doing cutting-edge research that will benefit them academically and professionally. This is just the kind of public-private partnership that can be incredibly beneficial for our doctoral students. We are looking forward to all we will accomplish as a team.”
SENS’ research is focused on finding new regenerative therapies that can remove, repair, replace, or render harmless the cellular and molecular damage that accumulates over time.
The partnership was made possible in part through the work of Dr. Lilli Fishman, the SENS Research Foundation’s director of academic affairs and a UToledo alumna. Fishman will serve as a mentor to the UToledo doctoral students alongside SENS scientists.
“What I really value is this partnership opens the window of opportunity for our students. There is a huge biotech industry outside our region, and this new partnership helps to illustrate the possibilities within that sector to our students,” said Dr. Song-Tao Liu, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. “This is the first step of what we hope will be a larger partnership between UToledo and the SENS Research Foundation.”
As part of the collaboration, UToledo and the SENS Research Foundation also are exploring opportunities to engage the University’s new undergraduate neuroscience major with SENS research.
