The talk will describe the work of Martin Denzel and his team focusing on the role of protein homeostasis in health and longevity. They approach this through unbiased forward genetic approaches that lead them to delve into energy metabolism and protein biosynthesis.

Martin Denzel is a geneticist who studies the molecular underpinnings of ageing and longevity, using advanced high-resolution forward genetic screens in multiple organisms. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, Martin and his team have discovered the key role of the hexosamine pathway in extending survival. They further discovered a mechanism by which tuning of the integrated stress response results in reprogramming of the translatome to extend lifespan without reducing global protein synthesis. To illuminate underlying mechanisms, Martin employs structural biology approaches and mice are used to explore conserved effects on mammalian survival. Martin’s laboratory has developed a platform for amino-acid resolution screens in haploid mammalian cells that has opened the door to gain- and loss-of function screens, enabling drug target deconvolution as well as unbiased reporter-based approaches. With this technology at its core, Martin has co-founded the start-up company Acus Laboratories. Recently, Martin joined Altos Labs as a founding principal investigator.