Academic Background

Heidi Tissenbaum received her B.S. in Biology from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and an M.S. degree in Physiology from the University of Ottawa, in Ontario, Canada. In 1997, she graduated with a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard Medical School. From 1997 to 2001, she was a post-doc at MIT where she was supported by the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation. In 2001, Dr. Tissenbaum joined the Program in Gene Function and Expression at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and also received a Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Dr. Tissenbaum has received funding from the American Federation of Aging Research, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, the Concern Foundation, and the National Institute of Aging. Dr. Tissenbaum is also a William Randolph Hearst Young Investigator.

Defining healthy aging

We age. Some of us age better than others. Some of us show prolonged health. Our research focuses on understanding the fundamental processes that define how we age. We use a combination of molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and genomics to define: what contributes to lifespan? What defines healthy aging (healthspan)? What dictates metabolic health? How does the environment contribute? What about nutrition/diet? Overall, we want to determine the critical pathways/genes that define health. 

Specific Interests

1. In C. elegans, the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway plays a central role in regulating lifespan, fat storage, stress and development. What are all the genes involved? How is each specific phenotype modulated? Are they modulated together?
2. How do multiple conserved signaling pathways couple to the insulin/IGF-1 pathway to regulate lifespan? Fat storage? Stress? Development?
3. How does the forkhead transcription factor DAF-16 function as a central mediator in C. elegans?