Member Spotlight

Q&A with David L. Wilson, PhD from Miami, Florida.

Q: How long have you been a member of GSA?
A: I joined GSA over 20 years ago, and was honored to become a GSA fellow in 2002. 

Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: In the 1970s, a colleague of mine, Morris Rockstein, asked me to write a review article on theoretical aspects of aging.  A few years after that, I wrote a grant proposal to attempt the isolation of aging mutants in nematodes.  It did not get funded, but shortly afterward, others discovered the first aging mutants in the nematode.  My own research was focused on other areas of biology, so it was not until the early 1990s, after a period of time in academic administration, that I returned to study aging.  At that time, I finally started some experiments on aging mutants in nematodes and also worked on methods for the demographic analysis of mortality. 

What always has driven my interest in aging is to understand why and how we age.  I had a deep intellectual interest in such questions, but that has shifted to a more personal one as I’ve gotten older.  I tell the students in my aging course that it used to be a lecture course, but has become a demonstration class! 

Q: What are your key responsibilities at your university?
A: I am professor of biology (and Physiology and Biophysics) at the University of Miami.  In addition to research in the areas of biology of aging and biology of mind, I teach several courses.  Among them is a large lecture course in general biology for biology majors and premedical students, and an upper-level course on the biology of aging.  Occasionally I co-teach a class on the 1960s, and also have taught a course on science and literature, so I do enjoy a range of science and humanities in the classroom.  In the past I have served as dean of the college of arts and sciences, deputy dean for academic affairs at the medical school, dean of the graduate school, and associate provost for instructional advancement.

Q: What is your most memorable experience in aging research?
A: It was a serendipitous event.  In August 1992, when Hurricane Andrew hit, I was studying mortality rates in a cohort of age-1 mutant nematodes, comparing them to a cohort of wild-type animals.  Power was out at the University of Miami for three days, and the temperature of the incubator increased dramatically.  For no good reason that I can remember, I continued the experiment.  The wild-type organisms quickly died from the heat shock, but the age-1 mutants hardly changed their life expectancy.  At that time, it was thought that the age-1 mutant was increasing life expectancy as a result of a trade-off with reproduction, but my experiment suggested that heat-shock proteins were playing a role.  This was confirmed by others and further experiments in a number of different labs have since shown the important role that repair and maintenance genes (such as heat-shock genes, antioxidant genes, and DNA repair genes) play in the age-1 mutant and more generally in the determination of longevity in organisms.

Q: Why is it important for other individuals to join GSA?
A: GSA serves a number of important roles. Its publications are the premier ones in the field. Its annual meetings are critical for meeting others, sharing ideas, and learning what is happening in the field of gerontology in all its aspects, from biological to sociological.  I enjoyed organizing the Special Interest Group on “Societal Implications of Delayed Aging” for several years and got to know many colleagues that way.  I also enjoyed my interactions with colleagues on the Public Policy Committee, which served as a link to society beyond GSA.  I encourage others to take an active role in the GSA.  It is rewarding in a variety of ways.

Q: Do you have any tips for emerging gerontologists?
A: Probably more than ever, you will need to be active not only in seeking research funding, but also in promoting the importance of funding for science.  We all will have to be proactive in pressing for adequate government and foundation support for the important work we are doing.  Government support, especially, is likely to be at risk due to fiscal constraints, and even programs whose support will enhance quality of life and possibly save money in the long run, will lose funding if we are not fully engaged.

Q: Tell us a little about your most recent activities/accomplishments?
A: I have completed a book-length manuscript on the biology of aging and made it available for free on the internet at www.bio.miami.edu/dwilson.  It deals with the future of human longevity and social implication of our finding ways to slow the rate of human aging.  Enjoy!

Q: Have you had an important mentor in your career?
A: I have had a couple.  Peter Geiduschek was my graduate advisor at the University of Chicago.  As I worked with him on a study of transcriptional regulation in bacteriophage, I learned much about how to do scientific research and how to think about experiments.   Years later, when I became a deputy dean at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Bernie Fogel was dean and he became my role model for what a good administrator should do and what one could accomplish by helping others to be successful as researchers and teachers.