Jupiter, FL (September 10, 2008) – Dr. Paul Kirchman, associate professor of biology in Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, has partnered with students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels to conduct research into aging. With the help of several colleagues, Kirchman is striving to understand how and why individual cells age. As part of his study, Kirchman uses a cellular model to show the effects of oxidative damage. Inside cells, organelles known as mitochondria produce energy, which Dr. Kirchman equates to miniature power plants. Unfortunately, like all power plants, mitochondria create pollution, which on intracellular level are oxygen radicals, also known as “free” radicals. One of Kirchman’s objectives is to discover a way either to assist mitochondria in producing less pollution or to capture and cleanse these byproducts before they can cause damage.

Kirchman and his colleagues are observing mitochondrial differences between individuals in order to see if any of them are more efficient, producing fewer oxygen radicals. The researchers are also exploring ways to improve the effectiveness of superoxide dismutase (SOD), an enzyme found in most organisms that use oxygen. SOD protects the cell from some of the harm that can be caused by oxygen radicals. If a more efficient version of this enzyme could be produced, it may result in a longer living cell.

“I believe the most important goal of age research is not to increase the life span of an individual, but to increase a person’s ‘health span.’ Personally I would rather live to be 90 years old and healthy than to 100, but sick for the last twenty years of my life.”

byline: Tamara Howard