About

Georges Janssens

Hi! I’m Georges Janssens, a scientist researching the biology of aging, passionate about creating an exciting, timely, and scientifically sound resource for people who are interested in living longer and healthier lives. You can read my blogs on aging here. In my first blog post, OLDY, you can learn more about why I started this website.

This website also serves to share the academic goals and research of my team. See the TEAM page for more info.

A bit about my CV and background: I’m originally from California (with Belgian/French roots) and graduated from UC Davis having studied genetics and philosophy. I completed a Masters degree in biomedical science from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 2009, and graduated in February 2016 with a PhD in Systems Biology of Aging from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, at the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA). I was a postdoc at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, working on diagnostics and therapeutics for human aging, and followed that up by a senior postdoc position at the Amsterdam University Medical Center in The Netherlands, working on mechanisms, markers, and interventions in aging. I am now an assistant Professor in the same medical research institute in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and continue driving my research on mechanisms, markers, and interventions in aging.

Feel free to contact me: G.E.Janssens [at] AmsterdamUMC [.nl]

And here are the academic papers: (* indicates equal contribution and # indicates correspondence).

  1. Brouwers SJ, Janssens GE, Spiegel T. Attitudes towards geroprotection: measuring willingness, from lifestyle changes to drug use. Front Aging. 2024 Nov 5;5:1440661. doi: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1440661. PMID: 39564522; PMCID: PMC11573782.
  2. Li W, McIntyre RL, Schomakers BV, Kamble R, Luesink AHG, van Weeghel M, Houtkooper RH, Gao AW#, Janssens GE#. Low-dose naltrexone extends healthspan and lifespan in C. elegans via SKN-1 activation. iScience. 2024 May 8;27(6):109949. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109949. PMID: 38799567; PMCID: PMC11126937.
  3. Janssens GE#, Molenaars M, Herzog K, Grevendonk L, Remie CME, Vervaart MAT, Elfrink HL, Wever EJM, Schomakers BV, Denis SW, Waterham HR, Pras-Raves ML, van Weeghel M, van Kampen AHC, Tammaro A, Butter LM, van der Rijt S, Florquin S, Jongejan A, Moerland PD, Hoeks J, Schrauwen P, Vaz FM#, Houtkooper RH#. A conserved complex lipid signature marks human muscle aging and responds to short-term exercise. Nat Aging. 2024 May;4(5):681-693. doi: 10.1038/s43587-024-00595-2. Epub 2024 Apr 12. PMID: 38609524.
  4. Tammaro A, Daniels EG, Hu IM, ‘t Hart KC, Reid K, Juni RP, Butter LM, Vasam G, Kamble R, Jongejan A, Aviv RI, Roelofs JJTH, Aronica E, Boon RA, Menzies KJ, Houtkooper RH, Janssens GE#. HDAC1/2 inhibitor therapy improves multiple organ systems in aged mice. iScience. 2023 Dec 12;27(1):108681. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108681. PMID: 38269100; PMCID: PMC10805681.
  5. Schomakers BV, Jillings SL, van Weeghel M, Vaz FM, Salomons GS, Janssens GE, Houtkooper RH. Ophthalmic acid is a glutathione regulating tripeptide. FEBS J. 2024 Jan 20. doi: 10.1111/febs.17061. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38245827.
  6. Brochard T, McIntyre RL, Houtkooper RH, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V, Janssens GE#. Repurposing nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) to slow aging. Ageing Res Rev. 2023 Dec;92:102132. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.102132. Epub 2023 Nov 19. PMID: 37984625.
  7. Smits MAJ, Schomakers BV, van Weeghel M, Wever EJM, Wüst RCI, Dijk F, Janssens GE, Goddijn M, Mastenbroek S, Houtkooper RH, Hamer G. Human ovarian aging is characterized by oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. Hum Reprod. 2023 Nov 2;38(11):2208-2220. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dead177. PMID: 37671592; PMCID: PMC10628503.
  8. Salignon J, Faridani OR, Miliotis T, Janssens GE, Chen P, Zarrouki B, Sandberg R, Davidsson P, Riedel CG. Age prediction from human blood plasma using proteomic and small RNA data: a comparative analysis. Aging (Albany NY). 2023 Jun 20;15(12):5240-5265. doi: 10.18632/aging.204787. Epub 2023 Jun 20. PMID: 37341993; PMCID: PMC10333066.
  9. Janssens GE#, Grevendonk L, Schomakers BV, Perez RZ, van Weeghel M, Schrauwen P, Hoeks J, Houtkooper RH. A metabolomic signature of decelerated physiological aging in human plasma. Geroscience. 2023 May 31. doi: 10.1007/s11357-023-00827-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37259015.
  10. Reid K, Daniels EG, Vasam G, Kamble R, Janssens GE, Hu IM, Green AE, Houtkooper RH, Menzies KJ. Reducing mitochondrial ribosomal gene expression does not alter metabolic health or lifespan in mice. Sci Rep. 2023 May 24;13(1):8391. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35196-3. PMID: 37225705; PMCID: PMC10209074.
  11. Lu JK, Sijm M, Janssens GE, Goh J, Maier AB. Remote monitoring technologies for measuring cardiovascular functions in community-dwelling adults: a systematic review. Geroscience. 2023 May 18:1–12. doi: 10.1007/s11357-023-00815-4. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37204639; PMCID: PMC10196312.
  12. Shevchuk Y, Kuypers K, Janssens GE#. Fungi as a source of bioactive molecules for the development of longevity medicines. Ageing Res Rev. 2023 Jun;87:101929. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.101929. Epub 2023 Apr 7. PMID: 37031727.
  13. McIntyre RL, Molenaars M, Schomakers BV, Gao AW, Kamble R, Jongejan A, van Weeghel M, van Kuilenburg ABP, Possemato R, Houtkooper RH, Janssens GE#. Anti-retroviral treatment with zidovudine alters pyrimidine metabolism, reduces translation, and extends healthy longevity via ATF-4. Cell Rep. 2023 Jan 31;42(1):111928. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111928. Epub 2022 Dec 30. PMID: 36640360.
  14. Harmsen JF, van Weeghel M, Parsons R, Janssens GE, Wefers J, van Moorsel D, Hansen J, Hoeks J, Hesselink MKC, Houtkooper RH, Schrauwen P. Divergent remodeling of the skeletal muscle metabolome over 24 h between young, healthy men and older, metabolically compromised men. Cell Rep. 2022 Dec 13;41(11):111786. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111786. PMID: 36516749.
  15. Janssens GE#, Houtkooper RH, Hoeks J. NAD+ to assess health in aging humans. Aging (Albany NY). 2022 Aug 6;14(15):5962-5963. doi: 10.18632/aging.204220. Epub 2022 Aug 6. PMID: 35939337; PMCID: PMC9417223.
  16. McIntyre RL, Liu YJ, Hu M, Morris BJ, Willcox BJ, Donlon TA, Houtkooper RH, Janssens GE#. Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical activation of FOXO3 for healthy longevity. Ageing Res Rev. 2022 Jun;78:101621. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101621. Epub 2022 Apr 11. PMID: 35421606.
  17. Liu YJ, McIntyre RL, Janssens GE#. Considerations regarding public use of longevity interventions. Frontiers in Aging 2022. 3:2022, DOI 10.3389/fragi.2022.903049   
  18. Janssens GE, Grevendonk L, Perez RZ, Schomakers BV, de Vogel-van den Bosch J, Geurts JMW, van Weeghel M, Schrauwen P, Houtkooper RH & Hoeks J. Healthy aging and muscle function are positively associated with NAD+ abundance in humans. Nature Aging 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00174-3
  19. Liu YJ, Gao AW, Smith RL, Janssens GE, Panneman DM, Jongejan A, van Weeghel M, Vaz FM, Silvestrini MJ, Lapierre LR, MacInnes AW, Houtkooper RH. Reduced ech-6 expression attenuates fat-induced lifespan shortening in C. elegans. Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 1;12(1):3350. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07397-9. PMID: 35233004; PMCID: PMC8888598.
  20. Meron E, Thaysen M, Angeli S, Antebi A, Barzilai N, Baur JA, Bekker-Jensen S, Birkisdottir M, Bischof E, Bruening J, Brunet A, Buchwalter A, Cabreiro F, Cai S,…, Janssens GE, Jensen MB, Kaeberlein M, Karsenty G, de Keizer P, Kennedy B, … Serrano M, Schumacher B, Sinclair DA, Smith R, Suh Y, Taub P, Trapp A, Trendelenburg AU, Valenzano DR, Verburgh K, Verdin E, Vijg J, Westendorp RGJ, Zonari A, Bakula D, Zhavoronkov A, Scheibye-Knudsen M. Meeting Report: Aging Research and Drug Discovery. Aging (Albany NY). 2022 Jan 28;14(2):530-543. doi: 10.18632/aging.203859. Epub 2022 Jan 28. PMID: 35089871; PMCID: PMC8833115.
  21. Remie CME*, Janssens GE*, Bilet L, van Weeghel M, Duvivier BMFM, de Wit VHW, Connell NJ, Jörgensen JA, Schomakers BV, Schrauwen-Hinderling VB, Hoeks J, Hesselink MKC, Phielix E, Houtkooper RH, Schrauwen P. Sitting less elicits metabolic responses similar to exercise and enhances insulin sensitivity in postmenopausal women. Diabetologia. 2021 Sep 12;1-12. doi: 10.1007/s00125-021-05558-5. Online ahead of print.
  22. McIntyre RL, Rahman M, Vanapalli SA , Houtkooper RH, Janssens GE#. Biological Age Prediction From Wearable Device Movement Data Identifies Nutritional and Pharmacological Interventions for Healthy Aging. Front. Aging, 2021 July. doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2021.708680
  23. McIntyre RL, Denis SW, Kamble R, Molenaars M, Petr M, Schomakers BV, Rahman M, Gupta S, Toth ML, Vanapalli SA, Jongejan A, Scheibye-Knudsen M, Houtkooper RH, Janssens GE#. Inhibition of the neuromuscular acetylcholine receptor with atracurium activates FOXO/DAF-16-induced longevity. Aging Cell. 2021 Aug;20(8):e13381. doi: 10.1111/acel.13381. Epub 2021 Jul 6.
  24. Smits MAJ*, Janssens GE*, Goddijn M, Hamer G, Houtkooper RH, Mastenbroek S. Longevity pathways are associated with human ovarian ageing. Hum Reprod Open. 2021; 2021(2): hoab020. Published online 2021 May 16. doi: 10.1093/hropen/hoab020
  25. Held NM, Buijink MR, Elfrink HL, Kooijman S, Janssens GE, Luyf ACM, Pras-Raves ML, Vaz FM, Michel S, Houtkooper RH, van Weeghel M. Aging selectively dampens oscillation of lipid abundance in white and brown adipose tissue. Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 15;11(1):5932. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-85455-4.
  26. Molenaars M, Schomakers BV, Elfrink HL, Gao AW, Vervaart MAT, Pras-Raves ML, Luyf AC, Smith RL, Sterken MG, Kammenga JE, van Kampen AHC, Janssens GE, Vaz FM, van Weeghel M, Houtkooper RH. Metabolomics and lipidomics in C. elegans using a single sample preparation. Dis Model Mech. 2021 Mar 2:dmm.047746. doi: 10.1242/dmm.047746.
  27. van der Rijt S, Molenaars M, McIntyre RL, Janssens GE, Houtkooper RH. Integrating the Hallmarks of Aging Throughout the Tree of Life: A Focus on Mitochondrial Dysfunction. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020 Nov 26;8:594416. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.594416.
  28. Janssens GE#, Houtkooper RH. Identification of longevity compounds with minimized probabilities of side effects. Biogerontology. 2020 Jun 19. doi: 10.1007/s10522-020-09887-7.
  29. Liu YJ, McIntyre RL, Janssens GE, Williams EG, Lan J, van Weeghel M, Schomakers B, van der Veen H, van der Wel NN, Yao P, Mair WB, Aebersold R, MacInnes AW, Houtkooper RH. Mitochondrial translation and dynamics synergistically extend lifespan in C. elegans through HLH-30. J Cell Biol . 2020 Jun 1;219(6):e201907067. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201907067.
  30. Molenaars M, Daniels EG, Meurs A, Janssens GE, Houtkooper RH. Mitochondrial cross-compartmental signalling to maintain proteostasis and longevity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci . 2020 Jun 22;375(1801):20190414. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0414. Epub 2020 May 4.
  31. Molenaars M*, Janssens GE*, Williams EG, Jongejan A, Lan J, Rabot S, Joly F, Moerland PD, Schomakers BV, Lezzerini M, Liu YJ, McCormick MA, Kennedy BK, van Weeghel M, van Kampen AHC, Aebersold R, MacInnes AW, Houtkooper RH. A Conserved Mito-Cytosolic Translational Balance Links Two Longevity Pathways. Cell Metab. 2020 Feb 7. pii: S1550-4131(20)30012-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.01.011.
  32. Liu YJ, McIntyre RL, Janssens GE, Houtkooper RH. Mitochondrial fission and fusion: A dynamic role in aging and potential target for age-related disease. Mech Ageing Dev. 2020 Mar;186:111212. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2020.111212.
  33. Novarina D, Janssens GE, Bokern K, Schut T, van Oerle N, Kazemier H, Veenhoff L, Chang M. A genome-wide screen identifies genes that suppress the accumulation of spontaneous mutations in young and aged yeast cells. Aging Cell. 2020 Feb;19(2):e13084. doi: 10.1111/acel.13084.
  34. McIntyre RL, Daniels EG, Molenaars M, Houtkooper RH, Janssens GE#. From molecular promise to preclinical results: HDAC inhibitors in the race for healthy aging drugs. EMBO Mol Med. 2019 Sep;11(9):e9854. doi: 10.15252/emmm.201809854.
  35. Duijkers FA, McDonald A, Janssens GE, Lezzerini M, Jongejan A, van Koningsbruggen S, Leeuwenburgh-Pronk WG, Wlodarski MW, Moutton S, Tran-Mau-Them F, Thauvin-Robinet C, Faivre L, Monaghan KG, Smol T, Boute-Benejean O, Ladda RL, Sell SL, Bruel AL, Houtkooper RH, MacInnes AW. HNRNPR Variants that Impair Homeobox Gene Expression Drive Developmental Disorders in Humans. Am J Hum Genet. 2019 Jun 6;104(6):1040-1059. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.03.024.
  36. Janssens GE*, Lin X*, Millan-Arino L*, Seinstra RI, Stroustrup N, Nollen EAA, Riedel CR. Transcriptomics-Based Screening Identifies Pharmacological Inhibition of Hsp90 as a Means to Defer Aging. Cell Rep. 2019 Apr 9;27(2):467-480.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.03.044.
  37. Rempel IL, Crane MM, Mishra A, Jansen DPM, Janssens GE, Popken P, Kaeberlein M, Giessen E, Onck P, Steen A, Veenhoff LM.Age-dependent deterioration of nuclear pore assembly in mitotic cells decreases transport dynamics. Elife. 2019 Jun 3;8. pii: e48186. doi: 10.7554/eLife.48186.
  38. Liu YJ, Janssens GE, Kamble R, Gao AW, Jongejan A, van Weeghel M, MacInnes AW, Houtkooper RH. Glycine promotes longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans in a methionine cycle-dependent fashion.PLoS Genet. 2019 Mar 7;15(3):e1007633. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007633.
  39. Leupold S, Hubmann G, Litsios A, Meinema AC, Papagiannakis A, Niebel B, Janssens GE, Siegel D, Heinemann M. Saccharomyces cerevisiae goes through distinct metabolic phases during its replicative lifespan. Elife. 2019 Apr 9;8. pii: e41046. doi: 10.7554/eLife.41046.
  40. Huffnagel IC, Dijkgraaf MGW, Janssens GE, van Weeghel M, van Geel BM, Poll-The BT, Kemp S, Engelen M. Disease progression in women with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy is slow. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2019 Feb 7;14(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s13023-019-1008-6. PMID: 30732635; PMCID: PMC6367840.
  41. Gao AW, Smith RL, Weeghel M, Kamble R, Janssens GE, Houtkooper RH Identification of key pathways and metabolic fingerprints of longevity in C. elegans. Exp Gerontol. 2018 Nov; 113: 128–140. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2018.10.003
  42. Lin X*, Sen I*, Janssens GE, Fonslow B, Stroustrup N, Swoboda P, Yates J, Ruvkun G, Riedel C. DAF-16/FOXO and HLH-30/TFEB function as combinatorial transcription factors to promote stress resistance and longevity. *equal contribution. Nat Commun. 2018 Oct 23;9(1):4400. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06624-0
  43. Molenaars M, Janssens GE, Santermans T, Lezzerini M, Jelier R, MacInnes AW, Houtkooper RH. Mitochondrial ubiquinone-mediated longevity is marked by reduced cytoplasmic mRNA translation. Life Sci Alliance. 2018 Aug 31;1(5):e201800082. doi: 10.26508/lsa.201800082. PMID: 30198021; PMCID: PMC6126614.
  44. Novarina D, Mavrova SN, Janssens GE, Rempel IL, Veenhoff LM, Chang M.  Increased genome instability is not accompanied by sensitivity to DNA damaging agents in aged yeast cells. DNA Repair (Amst). 2017 Jun;54:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2017.03.005.
  45. Janssens GE, Veenhoff L. The Natural Variation in Lifespans of Single Yeast Cells Is Related to Variation in Cell Size, Ribosomal Protein, and Division Time. PLoS One. 2016;11(12):e0167394. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167394
  46. Janssens GE, Veenhoff L. Evidence for the hallmarks of human aging in replicatively aging yeast. Microbial Cell. 2016 ;3(7):263-274. doi: 10.15698/mic2016.07.510
  47. Janssens GE *, Meinema AC *, González J , Wolters JC , Schmidt A , Guryev V, Bischoff R, Wit EC, Veenhoff LM¶, Heinemann M¶. Protein biogenesis machinery is a driver of replicative aging in yeast. eLife. 2015 ;4. doi: 10.7554/elife.08527 *equal contribution, ¶co-correspondence
  48. Craig T, Smelick C, Tacutu R, Wuttke D, Wood SH, Stanley H, Janssens GE, Savitskaya E, Moskalev A, Arking R, de Magalhães JP. The Digital Ageing Atlas: integrating the diversity of age-related changes into a unified resource. Nucleic Acids Research. 2014 ;43(D1):D873-D878. doi:10.1093/nar/gku843
  49. Huberts DHEW, Janssens GE, Lee SS, Vizcarra IA, Heinemann M. Continuous High-resolution Microscopic Observation of Replicative Aging in Budding Yeast. Journal of Visualized Experiments. 2013 ;(78). doi:10.3791/50143
  50. Huberts DHEW, Sik Lee S, González J, Janssens GE, Vizcarra IA, Heinemann M. Construction and use of a microfluidic dissection platform for long-term imaging of cellular processes in budding yeast. Nature Protocols. 2013 ;8(6):1019-1027. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2013.060
  51. Fuellen G, Boerries M, Busch H, de Grey A, Hahn U, Hiller T, Hoeflich A, Jansen L, Janssens GE, Kaleta C, Meinema AC, Schäuble S, Simm A, Schofield PN, Smith B, Sühnel J, Vera J, Wagner W, Wönne EC, Wuttke D. In Silico Approaches and the Role of Ontologies in Aging Research. Rejuvenation Research. 2013 ;16(6):540-546. doi: 10.1089/rej.2013.1517
  52. Plank M, Hu G, Silva AS, Wood SH, Hesketh EE, Janssens GE, Macedo A, de Magalhães JP, Church GM. An analysis and validation pipeline for large-scale RNAi-based screens. Sci Rep. 2013 ;3. doi: 10.1038/srep01076
  53. de Magalhães JP, Finch CE, Janssens GE. Next-generation sequencing in aging research: Emerging applications, problems, pitfalls and possible solutions. Ageing Research Reviews. 2010 ;9(3):315-323. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2009.10.006
  54. Linsen SEV, de Wit E, Janssens GE, et al. Limitations and possibilities of small RNA digital gene expression profiling. Nature Methods. 2009 ;6(7):474-476. doi: 10.1038/nmeth0709-474

 

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Also regarding everything published here (and badaboom here comes the disclaimer): if something might sound like medical information, please know that this is not intended as a replacement for information from your very own doctor or physician, and especially since every person is different, responds differently, and has different needs, please consult a healthcare professional before taking any actions.