Expert on 'zombie cells' will provide keynote at symposium focused on health and aging
Matt Yousefzadeh, PhD
As we age and our immune systems become less efficient, the number of dysfunctional cells in our bodies can increase. These senescent, or “zombie,” cells that no longer divide and do not die are associated with many age-related conditions, including cancer, diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
On May 19, UNT Health Fort Worth will convene experts to discuss how aging contributes to conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cataracts, glaucoma and other neurological disorders at the 2026 Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Symposium.
The symposium is free with registration and available both in person and virtually. Registration is available now at the NBAAD Symposium website.
This year’s keynote speaker is Matt Yousefzadeh, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He will present the lecture “The role of senescent cells in health and disease.”
Yousefzadeh’s lab at the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology explores senescent cells, in particular senescent immune cells, and how they affect aging.
“Dr. Yousezadeh’s research is vital as his work opens the door to therapies that could not only treat chronic illness but fundamentally improve human healthspan ,” said Dr. Nathalie Sumien, chair of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at UNT Health’s College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, T32 program director and symposium organizer.
The symposium will also highlight UNT Health student research supported by The T32 Training Grant in the Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.
This year’s T32 Fellows will present their research at the symposium.
- Dr. Viet Dinh - “Pulsatile perfusion therapy improves outcomes following severe hemorrhage in rats”
- Jeri Keitzer - “Impulsivity and resting-state functional connectivity in rats following cocaine use”
- Nina Donkor - “Inhibiting HDAC 4/5 preserves retinal ganglion cell function and survival in a mouse model of glaucoma”
- Ammar Kapic - “DHED-derived 17β-estradiol reverses visual cortex proteomic dysregulation in ovariectomized glaucomatous rats”
- Dr. Sal Essajee - “Perfusion-contraction-metabolism matching under restricted coronary flow: Mechanistic insights and implications for age-related microvasular dysfunction”
- Olivia Anchondo - “Acute pharmacological characterization of triazole 1.1 as a strategy for safer opioid therapy in aging”
- Katherine McBroom-Henson - “Adaptive sampling for the simultaneous analysis of genetic and epigenetic markers in human remains identification”
- Jonna Smith - “Rats exposed to resource deprivation during weaning experience dimorphic sex differences in renal function and oxidative stress later in life”
- Ysabella Ruiz-Pick - “Voltage-dependent potassium channels and vasodilation in skeletal muscle of humans: Impact of age”
- Nathan Jones - “Evaluating the neuropathogenic role of CD8 T-cells in traumatic brain injury”
- Claire Caballero - “Functional heterogeneity of the CSF-brain barrier”
The T32 grant funds fellowships for Ph.D. students at the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences who are pursuing aging-related research. Each year, fellows receive stipends, tuition support, travel funds and resources to advance their research and training.
The symposium is sponsored by the UNT Health Department Pharmacology and Neuroscience and the UNT Health Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.