Prof Jesus Gil

Jesús Gil was born in Zaragoza, Spain. He obtained his PhD studying how the dsRNA- dependent protein kinase induces apoptosis and activates NF-kB, in 2000 at the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid. From 2000 to 2003 he worked with David Beach at the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, where he screened for genes bypassing senescence. In January 2004, he joined Gordon Peters' group at the CRUK London Research Institute, investigating regulation of the INK4/ARF locus. During 2005 he visited Scott Lowe's laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor. Since Nov. 2005 he leads the Cell Proliferation Group at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (MRC LMS) were his main interest is to understands how senescence is regulated. His laboratory studies the molecular pathways regulating senescence and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and their pathophysiological implications. To this end they use different mammalian systems of senescence and a variety of strategies to perform functional screens. The ultimate end is to understand the molecular mechanisms controlling senescence and exploit them for therapeutic benefit. In 2008, Jesús was named an EMBO Young Investigator. He got tenured in 2010 and in 2011 obtained the EACR Cancer researcher Award ’highly commended’. Since 2013 he is a Professor at Imperial College where it heads the Department of Molecular Sciences at the Institute of Clinical Sciences. He is a named inventor on several patents on senolytics and have collaborated with different companies on the development of senolytic drugs.