Professor Janko Nikolich-Žugich’s Lecture ‘Biology and Immunology of Ageing’

Professor Janko Nikolich-Žugich, MD, head of the Department of Immunobiology at the College of Medicine of the University of Arizona, who was named the researcher of the year in 2021 in the field of biological sciences in Arizona for his work on ageing, immunology and Covid-19 testing and prevention, is to give a lecture titled ‘Biology and Immunology of Ageing’ at the SASA Grand Hall, on Monday, 12 June, at 1 p.m.

The first section of the lecture presents the basics of the biology of ageing, the geroscience concept and particular results of lecturers in the sphere of basic mechanisms of immune system ageing. The biology of ageing is a science researching molecular and cellular basics of the ageing process, as well as those interventions which potentially could stall and postpone the process of ageing. Geroscience is a concept which postulates that molecular and cellular basic mechanisms of ageing can overlap with the mechanisms driving the onset and progression of chronic diseases. If this concept proves to be correct, interventions at the basic mechanisms level should slow down the progression of not only one but several chronic diseases, such as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, malign and metabolic conditions. The lecture will give an overview of the most current developments in geroscience.

The second section discusses the causes of immune system ageing and its consequences related to decreased immune responses against infectious diseases. Laboratory experiments on T and B lymphocytes and lymph tissues vital to their production (thymus gland and bone marrow) and upkeep of lymphocyte functions (lymph nodes, spleen) have revealed defects on various levels. A detailed map of cellular defects has been generated by the transfer of rejuvenated cell populations from young to old animals and vice versa. Not only did molecular analysis of particular defects start to explain the mechanisms of defects, but also to set the guidelines for their potential correction toward an improved immune response in the elderly.

Professor Janko Nikolich-Žugich was a guest at the SASA in September 2022, when he delivered a well-attended lecture titled ’Acute Covid-19 and Post-Acute Sequelae of Covid-19; Immunological Aspects and Future Research Directions.’

Professor Nikolich-Žugich graduated and received his doctorate from the University of Belgrade. He joined the College of Medicine in Tucson in 2008, as a chair of the College’s Department of Immunobiology and co-director of the Center on Ageing at the University of Arizona. He has published over 180 papers in peer-reviewed journals and received 73 million worth of grants from the National Institute of Health. With his long-standing research, he has scientifically forwarded and influenced the health and well-being of Arizona residents and beyond.