Major scientific advances are often dismissed as “new” discoveries. This is especially true for basic biology. It’s hard to understand the importance of something if its real-world application isn’t immediately obvious. And it’s even more difficult when dealing with topics that aren’t well understood to begin with. Take, for example, the groundbreaking work of Nobel Prize winner Carol Greider.
In 1985, Greider discovered an enzyme he named telomerase. “What is telomerase?” you ask. Today, scientific leaders like Bruce Stillman, president and CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), are safely saying, “This has important implications for cancer and aging.” You can say But back in 1985? Maybe not so much. Greider and her mentor Elizabeth Blackburn showed that telomerase protects the ends of chromosomes, telomeres. It wasn’t really clear what this meant for the world of science, much less the world at large.
But the CSHL had a hunch. The institute hired Glider in his 1988 year as its second-ever fellow. In 1990, she was promoted to assistant investigator. In 1992, the glider took another leap forward. She discovered the link between telomerase and cancer. The key is cellular senescence, a state in which cells stop proliferating but do not die. Aging inherently accelerates aging. Wrinkles form, that’s aging. Greider discovered that in some cancer cells, telomerase is activated in places it shouldn’t be. This keeps the cells alive and allows the cancer to grow and spread.
In 2009, Glider was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This makes her the eighth Nobel Prize-winning author from CSHL. Today, CSHL continues to develop her work.
Carol Greider delivers the commencement address at the 2017 CSHL School of Biological Sciences’ 14th annual commencement ceremony.
Corinna Amor Vegas was hired as a fellow in 2022 and was promoted to assistant professor last month. Also last month, Amor Vegas showed that genetically tuned immune cells called CAR T cells can eliminate senescent cells in mice. CAR T cells rejuvenated old mice. And with just her one treatment, the young mice received lifelong health benefits.
“There is hope that CAR T cells can have an effect on chronic diseases and age-related pathologies,” says Amor-Vegas. “Through this research, we hope to better understand the biology of aging and develop strategies to improve healthspan and quality of life.”
CAR T cells are already used to treat certain cancers. Over time, it may help prevent heart and lung disease, diabetes, and even neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The possibilities are endless. But that’s kind of the gist of basic biology at CSHL.
“What’s interesting to basic scientists like me is that every time we do a series of experiments, even when we think we’ve answered one question, three or four new questions arise,” Greider says. says. “Our approach shows that you can conduct studies that try to answer specific questions about the disease, but you can also just follow your nose.”
written by: Jen A. Miller | publicaffairs@cshl.edu | 516-367-8455
