Max Wilson

Research Overview

The link between stress and aging is not as obvious as it might seem. Indeed, while large amounts of stress appear to decrease lifespan and increase age-related decline, smaller amounts of stress paradoxically increase the resilience of organisms. This idea that smaller doses of stress actually inoculate organisms against future stresses is referred to as "hormesis." Dr. Wilson's lab has developed tools and quantitative frameworks to describe the idea of hormesis at the molecular level with predictive mathematical models. Dr. Wilson and his team invent and refine protein systems to virtually stress cells with light. By combining these tools with advanced light-delivery hardware Dr. Wilson's and his team's platform allows them to systematically interrogate what dynamics of stress make cells stronger, which ones make them weaker, which ones are associated with functional decline, and which ones are associated with resilience. By fitting data from these highly quantitative experiments Dr. Wilson and his team are able to build a systems-level model of the stress response, helping them find interventions that can alter the dynamics of the stress response in age-related disease. Overall, they are excited for the opportunities to advance human health at the end of life, when cellular stress responses tend to decline, and to build interventions that could restore healthy stress response and even mimic the types of stress the make organisms more resilient without any of the negative side effects.