Education

• Ph.D., University of Missouri, 2001

Research Interests

• Molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegeneration
• Neuronal regulation of  C. elegans  larval development
• Drug screening
• The role of autophagy in innate immunity

Research Description

In the last two decades, the study of the molecular regulation of aging in model organisms, particularly in C. elegans, has greatly expanded our knowledge of aging. Multiple longevity pathways, such as insulin-like growth factor signaling, TOR signaling, dietary restriction, and mitochondrial activity, control aging in C. elegans and other organisms. Recent genetic studies indicate that autophagy, an evolutionary conserved lysosomal degradation pathway, interacts with various longevity signals in the regulation of C. elegans life span. My lab uses C. elegans as a model organism to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which autophagy regulates aging.

Aging is a risk factor for many human diseases including cancer and neurodegeneration. As a corollary, a wide variety of mutations that extend C. elegans life span confer resistance to tumorigenesis. Autophagy is involved in preventing aging, tumorigenesis and neurodegeneration in higher eukaryotes. Thus, a better understanding of the role of autophagy in controlling C. elegans life span may contribute to the understanding of these processes in mammals.

Recent Publications

• Minnerly, J., Zhang, J., Parker, T., Kaul^,  T. and  Jia, K.  (2017). The cell non-autonomous function of ATG-18 is essential for neuroendocrine regulation of  Caenorhabditis elegans  lifespan. PLoS Genetics. 13(5):e1006764. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006764.
• Chen, D., Zhang, J., Minnerly, J., Kaul, T., Riddle, D. and  Jia, K.  (2014). daf-31 encodes the catalytic subunit of N alpha-acetyltransferase that regulates  Caenorhabditis elegans  development, metabolism and adult lifespan. PLoS Genetics  10(10):e1004699. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004699.
• Sasaki, T., Lian, S., Qi, J., Bayliss, P., Carr, C., Johnson, J., Guha, S., Kobler, P., Catz, S., Gill, M.,  Jia, K., Klionsky, D.J., and Kishi, S. (2014) Aberrant autolysosomal regulation is linked to the induction of embryonic senescence: differential roles of Beclin 1 and p53 in vertebrate Spns1 deficiency. PLoS Genetics  10(6):e1004409. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004409.
• Curt, A., Zhang, J., Minnerly, J., and  Jia, K.  (2014). Intestinal autophagy activity is essential for host defense against  Salmonella typhimurium  infection in  Caenorhabditis elegans. Developmental and Comparative Immunology  45:214-218.