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Cole M. Haynes, PhD, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology, has received a Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) award from the National Institute on Aging for his research on repair and regeneration of mitochondria dysfunction, a mechanism associated with age-related diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
The MERIT award allows researchers with consistent records of research accomplishment to receive funding for five years without having to go through the full grant renewal process, as well as the possibility of extending funding for an additional five years after the initial period.
“The work of Cole Haynes in discerning key aspects of mitochondrial repair and regeneration has had a notable impact on the field,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaak Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost, dean of the School of Medicine and professor of pediatrics. “An NIH MERIT Award is recognition of the importance of his contributions.”
Dr. Haynes’ project, “Coordinated Repair and Regeneration of Defective Mitochondria,” was awarded $2.2 million for 2020 through 2024.
His research on mitochondrial repair and regeneration has been funded under NIA’s Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development Study Section since 2015.
The decline in mitochondrial function caused by several factors, including the “natural wear and tear of being alive,” is a primary cause of aging and age-associated diseases, according to Haynes.
Mitochondria are microscopic organelles that produce energy and control the life and death of cells.
The project aims to help researchers understand how two recently identified signaling pathways interact to promote mitochondrial and respiratory chain biogenesis during age-related stress.
“Studying how to maintain mitochondria at optimal levels is pretty much what we do in our lab,” Haynes said.
He and his team hope to better understand how cells sense mitochondrial dysfunction and send signals to repair or replace the damaged mitochondria.
Haynes said announcement of the MERIT award was “completely out of the blue.”
He had submitted a standard grant renewal application for continuing work on mitochondria repair in late 2018 but hadn’t heard back from NIA until more than a year later. Two months after that, in mid-January, he was informed he had been selected for the MERIT award.
“That’s better than I was expecting,” he said.
Haynes said he has been intrigued by mitochondria since first learning about them in elementary school. “It’s the powerhouse of the cell,” he said. “It turned out a lot cooler than anybody could have guessed.”
Haynes joins a growing list of UMMS researchers who have received MERIT awards, including:
- Michael P. Czech, PhD, the Isadore and Fanny Foxman Chair in Medical Research, chair and professor of molecular medicine
- Katherine A. Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair and professor of medicine
- Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, professor of medicine
- Douglas T. Golenbock, MD, professor of medicine and microbiology & physiological systems
- Heinrich Gottlinger, MD, PhD, professor of molecular medicine and biochemistry & molecular pharmacology
- Allan S. Jacobson, PhD, the Gerald L. Haidak, MD, and Zelda S. Haidak Professor of Cell Biology and chair and professor of microbiology & physiological systems
- Craig L. Peterson, PhD, professor of molecular medicine and biochemistry & molecular pharmacology
- Peter A. Rice, MD, professor of medicine
- Joel Richter, PhD, professor of molecular medicine
- Lawrence Stern, PhD, professor of pathology and biochemistry & molecular pharmacology
- Susan Swain, PhD, professor of pathology
- Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, professor of medicine
- Raymond M. Welsh, PhD, professor of pathology and microbiology & physiological systems
- George B. Witman, PhD, the George F. Booth Chair in the Basic Sciences and professor of radiology
- Phillip D. Zamore, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Gretchen Stone Cook Chair of Biomedical Sciences and chair and professor of RNA therapeutics
