Fueling Breakthroughs in Aging Research at Wistar
Advancing discoveries in aging and age related diseases takes a community of supporters—and thanks to the Vincent J. Cristofalo Fund for Aging Research, Wistar scientists Dr. Amelia Escolano and Dr. Kavitha Sarma are pushing the boundaries of what we know about how and why we age.
Established through the generosity of Peggy Cristofalo, the fund honors the legacy of her late husband, Dr. Vincent J. Cristofalo, a pioneering Wistar scientist whose work helped shape the modern field of aging research. Today, contributions to the Cristofalo Fund empower Wistar investigators to explore bold new ideas, generate foundational data, and deepen our understanding of the biological processes that influence aging and disease.
In her laboratory, Dr. Kavitha Sarma is studying two important cellular states—senescence (when cells stop dividing permanently) and quiescence (when cells temporarily pause but can reactivate). By uncovering why some cells “shut down” while others reawaken to repair tissues, her work could reveal strategies to delay harmful senescence, which contributes to inflammation, slower healing, and many age related illnesses.
Meanwhile, Dr. Amelia Escolano and her team are developing cutting edge technology to observe how B cells, the immune cells that produce antibodies, respond to vaccines as people age. This work could pave the way for more effective vaccines for older adults, whose immune systems often respond less robustly.
“Our research often involves complex, long-term studies that require specialized resources and cutting-edge technologies, which can be costly and difficult to fund through traditional mechanisms,” Dr. Escolano explained. “The support my team has received from the Vincent J. Cristofalo Fund for Aging Research gives us the flexibility to pursue innovative ideas that might otherwise remain unexplored, generate critical preliminary data, and take bold steps toward understanding the biological processes that drive aging and age-related diseases.”
For Peggy Cristofalo, supporting this work is a way to honor her husband’s influential scientific journey—and give today’s researchers the same launchpad Wistar provided him.
“Vince always felt he was very fortunate to have been at the Wistar Institute alongside Leonard Hayflick at a time when our understanding of aging was exploding,” she shared. “The discoveries made at Wistar during that time formed the foundation for much of the work being done today in this field. His experience at Wistar launched his long career in this area of research and he would be deeply honored that a fund supporting the continuation of this work bears his name.”
Want to know how you can create a Legacy Gift? Learn more here.