Jan Karlseder

Jan Karlseder, PhD, is an internationally recognized leader in the science of healthy aging. His work focuses on telomeres, the protective protein-DNA caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten as we age and help determine cellular lifespan. When telomeres fail, the consequences ripple outward: genome instability, inflammation, and the earliest steps of cancer. Karlseder has discovered key mechanisms that protect healthy cells from transforming into cancer, including how critically short telomeres trigger cell death, thereby preventing tumor formation. His work has been recognized with honors such as the V Foundation Award for Developing Scientists, the Forbeck Scholar Award, and the Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging.