Members of the NAR-Kolleg

Vita

Dr. Aysel Muezzinler - Biomedical Sciences, B.Sc.

Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research; DKFZ
Room: S 1.207, Im Neuenheimer Feld 581
D-69120 Heidelberg

Fellows: Prof. Dr. Hermann Brenner

Association of leukocyte telomere length with age related diseases and functional impairments

Telomeres are complex DNA structures that “cap” the ends of chromosomes, protecting them against degradation and end-to-end fusions. They are critical for integrity and stability of the genomes. Telomere length is highly variable between individuals. The observation that it shortens with each cell division has lead it to be considered as a biomarker of aging. There is epidemiological evidence suggesting that telomere length is associated with several disease outcomes including dementia, cardiovascular diseases, total and cancer mortality. As well as genetic variants, telomere length is also affected by lifestyle and environmental factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, physical activity, obesity, diet and socioeconomic status. However, most of these associations described have not been found in elderly cohorts. My research aims to investigate the associations between smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, body mass index and socioeconomic status and telomere length in different age groups in the combined cohorts of the CHANCES consortium. This research will contribute to the clarification of evidence if telomere length can be used as a biomarker of aging at the functional level in clinical settings.

Kurzlebenslauf