Leading Senolytic Research Labs and Scientists: Who to Follow
Expert Summary
The senolytic field is led by a small number of highly collaborative research groups with overlapping trial participation and co-authorships. The Mayo Clinic (Kirkland/Tchkonia), Scripps Research (Maher), Buck Institute (Campisi), and University of Texas Health (Musi/Gonzales) represent the primary institutional contributors as of 2026.
Key Facts
- James Kirkland (Mayo Clinic): The architect of the D+Q protocol; coinventor of the first senolytic drug screen; leads the clinical trial program for D+Q across multiple diseases. Most prolific clinical senolytic researcher globally.
- Tamara Tchkonia (Mayo Clinic): Kirkland's primary collaborator; focuses on adipose tissue senescence and metabolic implications of senolytic treatment.
- Pamela Maher (Scripps Research Institute): Led the fisetin mouse lifespan study (2018); primary investigator for natural senolytic research at Scripps. Focuses on CNS applications of fisetin.
- Judith Campisi (Buck Institute for Research on Aging): Discovered and characterized the SASP (2008); foundational work on the biology of cellular senescence. Less focused on clinical senolytic trials.
- Nathan Musi / Marisa Gonzales (UT Health San Antonio): Led the first Alzheimer's D+Q trial; primary investigators for neurological applications of senolytics.
- João Pedro Magalhães (University of Liverpool): Computational aging biology; maintains the online database GenAge (gene aging database) and SeneQuest (senescence gene database) — valuable free resources.
- Where to follow: PubMed searches for "senolytic" (2020–present); ClinicalTrials.gov for "senolytics"; Twitter/X accounts of @kirkland_james_lab, Aging journal (Impact Journals), EBioMedicine for trial publications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which institution runs the most human senolytic trials?
The Mayo Clinic has run more human senolytic trials than any other single institution — including DKD, frailty, IPF, and multiple other disease indications. The University of Texas Health San Antonio has the most Alzheimer's-focused senolytic trials.
How do I access senolytic clinical trial results?
PubMed (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) is the primary database for peer-reviewed results. ClinicalTrials.gov lists ongoing and completed trials with registration data. bioRxiv and medRxiv post preprints before peer review.
Scientific References
- Kirkland JL, Tchkonia T. Senolytic drugs: from discovery to translation. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2020. PMID: 32686219
- Yousefzadeh MJ et al. Fisetin is a senotherapeutic that extends health and lifespan. EBioMedicine. 2018. PMID: 30279143