Three faculty from the Department of Biology receive funding from the WoodNext Foundation

Dr. Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Biological Clocks Research, received a continuing award of $545,000 for her research project titled Circadian clock-based treatments for jet lag and aging.  This project used a simple model fungus Neurospora crassa to rapidly identify pharmacological factors that reset the body’s clock to treat jet lag, and factors that protect against age-related loss of clock function. Current funds will be used to test the pharmacological factors that gave the desired results in rodent and human cell lines and mice.

Assistant Professor Dr. Matt Moulton, and Professor and Head of Biology Dr. Alex Keene received $200,000 for their project titled Functional Assessment of Dementia Risk Genes and Pharmacological Interventions. This project uses models of Alzheimer’s disease that Dr. Moulton has developed to examine the effects of human Alzheimer’s variants on health span, and the potential of FDA-approved drugs to ameliorate symptoms.

The WoodNext Foundation manages the philanthropy of Anthony and Susan Woods. Mr. Woods is a tech innovator and CEO of Roku. The philanthropic efforts of WoodNext seek to advance human progress and remove obstacles to a fulfilling life!