VANAPALLI
LABORATORY
​Aging & Healthspan in C.elegans​
Aging is a major risk factor for a wide range of diseases (e.g. cancer and neurodegenerative disorders) and also affects the quality of life in the elderly population. Therefore understanding what genes and environmental factors control the biology of aging can provide insights into treatment of diseases and frailty. Several longevity genes have been identified in model organims including worms and flies; however, it is not clear whether these lifespan-extension genes can also improve healthspan, i.e. the quality of life in these organisms. Harnessing the power of genetics in the model organism C. elegans (a millimeter-sized nematode), our research aims to develop high throughput microfluidic technologies, computer vision algorithms and data-driven methods to characterize healthy aging in C. elegans. Our collaborators in this research thrust include Monica Driscoll @ Rutgers, Nate Szewczyk @ Nottingham and Jerzy Blawzdziewicz @ TTU. Research projects and relevant publications in this area are:
Muscle strength and physical fitness of C. elegans
2D and 3D locomotion of C. elegans
High throughput lifespan and healthspan assays
Microfluidic devices for screening anti-aging compounds
Relevant publications
Rahman, M., Hewitt, J. E., Van-Bussel, F., Hunter, E., Blawzdziewicz, J., Szewczyk, N. S., Driscoll, M. and Vanapalli, S. A. NemaFlex: A microfluidics-based technology for measurement of muscular strength of C.elegans. Lab on a Chip, 18, 2187-2120, 2018.
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Bilbao, A., Patel, A. K., Rahman, M., Vanapalli, S. A. and Blawzdziewicz, J. Roll maneuvers are essential for active reorientation of C.elegans in 3D media, PNAS, 115, E3616-E3625, 2018.
Etheridge, T., Rahman, M., Gaffney, C. J., Shaw, D., Shepherd, F., Magudia, J., Solomon, D. E., Milne, T., Blawzdziewicz, J., Constantin-Teodosiu, D., Greenhalf, P. L., Vanapalli, S. A. and Szewczyk, N.J. The integrin-adhesome is required to maintain muscle structure, ATP production, and movement forces in Caenorhabditis elegans. FASEB Journal, 29, 1235-1246, 2015.
Bilbao, A., Wajnryb, E., Vanapalli, S. A. and Blawzdziewicz, J. Nematode locomotion in unconfined and confined fluids. Physics of Fluids, 25, 081902, 2013. (AIP News Release)
Padmanabhan, V., Khan, Z. S., Solomon, D. E., Armstrong, A., Rumbaugh, K., Vanapalli, S. A. and Blawzdziewicz, J. Locomotion of C. elegans: A piece-wise harmonic curvature-representation of nematode behavior. PLoS One, 7, e40121, 2012.