Prof. Dr. Saul Villeda

Prof. Villeda did his PhD in Neuroscience at the Stanford University. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Endowed Chair in Biomedical Science at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and serves as Associate Director of the Bakar Aging Research Institute (BARI). His research focuses on how age-related systemic changes in the blood alter aging processes in the adult brain.

Research interests:

• Functional and cognitive impairments in the aging brain
• Reversal of aging effects in the old brain through systemic interventions
• Hallmarks of aging in the hippocampus, such as regeneration, plasticity and neuroinflammation

Selected publications: 

• Horowitz, Alana M et al. “Blood factors transfer beneficial effects of exercise on neurogenesis and cognition to the aged brain.” Science (New York, N.Y.) vol. 369,6500 (2020): 167-173. doi:10.1126/science.aaw2622

• Smith, Lucas K et al. “B2-microglobulin is a systemic pro-aging factor that impairs cognitive function and neurogenesis.” Nature Medicine vol. 21,8 (2015): 932-937. Doi:10.1038/nm.3898

• Villeda, Saul A et al. “Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice.” Nature Medicine vol. 20,6 (2014): 659-63. Doi:10.1038/nm.3569