Member SpotlightsProlonging the “Health-Span” of Human Beings Suresh Rattan, Ph.D., D.Sc. A Member Since June 2002  Early on in his academic career, Suresh Rattan became interested in understanding the fundamental processes of aging and has since devoted his talents and energies to discovering effective means of slowing these processes down in order to prevent age-related impairments and diseases. To this work, he brings insights from his training and expertise in the biology of aging and the study of the philosophy of old age and death. His interest in these pursuits was partially influenced by his family, whose lineage includes eminent religious-scholars of Sikh scriptures from Amritsar, Punjab, India where Dr. Rattan himself was born and raised. Dr. Rattan earned a Bachelors of Science degree with honors and a Masters of Science degree with honors in Biology from Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar. For his Master’s research project, he studied aging in insects. Later at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, he obtained a Masters of Philosophy degree after completing a research project studying Hydra regeneration. In the late 1970s, he came to London, England to work on his doctorate degree with the world-renowned geneticist Robin Holliday F.R.S. (i.e., of the Holliday structures in DNA) at the Division of Genetics, National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill. Dr. Rattan then pursued a postdoctoral degree (D.Sc.) in biogerontology from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. Currently, Dr. Rattan is a professor of biogerontology at the Danish Centre for Molecular Gerontology (DCMG) located in the Department of Molecular Biology of the University of Aarhus, Denmark. DCMG is a highly integrated and multidisciplinary center and is the first of its kind devoted to aging research in Denmark. DCMG brings together the expertise of molecular biologists, human geneticists, endocrinologists and bone specialists to focus on the issues of aging and age-related pathology. The ultimate aim of Dr. Rattan’s aging research is not only to extend one’s life-span, but to prolong the “health-span” of human beings while minimizing physical and mental suffering in old age. Most of the early research done in his lab was devoted to describing age-related changes in gene expression, protein synthesis, protein modification and turnover in a variety of human cell types (e.g., fibroblasts, keratinocytes and osteoblasts). This work led to the formulation of the concept of genes for aging, which are referred to as “gerontogenes”. While searching for potential anti-aging drugs, Dr. Rattan discovered that a plant growth factor, kinetin (N6-furfuryladenine), has powerful anti-aging effects on human skin fibroblasts. He was granted several international patents on the applications of this work. Kinetin is now being used as a component in several cosmetic products being marketed by ICN pharmaceuticals, Revlon, The Body Shop and other companies licensed by the biotech company, Senetek PLC. Dr. Rattan’s present research projects focus on the application of hormesis as an anti-aging therapy. Hormesis is the phenomenon of repetitive, mild stress having a beneficial effect on cellular maintenance and repair. The anti-aging, health promoting and longevity extending effects of exercise, calorie restriction, low-level irradiation, hypergravity are examples of hormesis. Dr. Rattan’s lab has demonstrated that exposure to mild heat stress (i.e., 41?C for 1 hour twice a week) slows down aging of human skin cells grown in vitro. Similarly, his lab has shown that mild heat stress increases the lifespan of fruit flies. He plans to extend these studies to human beings in order to identify different physical and mental stress conditions that may help to regulate a healthy aging process. Dr. Rattan serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the new, peer-reviewed international research journal Biogerontology. The journal is developing a world-renowned reputation as an important journal in the field of aging. In addition to many scientific articles Dr. Rattan has authored, and books he has edited, he has also written educational material for the public. The most popular of these materials is a book published in both English and Punjabi languages “Where’s Baba Gone?” on the biology and philosophy of aging, old age, and death. He frequently writes articles of general interest dealing with topics related to science and society, which are published in Punjabi, English and Danish languages. When he takes time away from his research pursuits, Dr. Rattan is an avid reader of aging, evolution, bioethics and practical psychology works. He greatly admires music, especially Indian classical music. He professes to be a reasonably good player of North Indian drums known as Tabla and occasionally accompanies Indian and Pakistani musicians and Danish jazz/new-age bands. ### << Previous Next >> [ View All Member Spotlights ] |
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