David E. Harrison
Led the Jackson Laboratory site of the NIA Interventions Testing Program. His 2009 Nature paper showed that rapamycin extends the lifespan of genetically diverse mice even when feeding starts at 20 months of age, which the authors described as the first pharmacological extension of lifespan in both sexes of a mammal
Professor Emeritus, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine · PhD, Stanford
Faculty profile, The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, Maine, USA) ↗
Portrait: The Jackson Laboratory
David Harrison has worked for decades on aging in mouse models at the Jackson Laboratory, with a particular focus on hematopoietic stem cells and on genetic and pharmacological interventions that extend healthy lifespan. He directed the Jackson Laboratory site of the NIA's Interventions Testing Program (ITP).
Harrison was first author of the 2009 ITP report showing that rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice, an effect seen at all three ITP sites and now considered one of the best-established findings in the biology of aging. His group has continued to test additional compounds, including acarbose and 17-alpha-estradiol, through the same rigorous multi-site design.
The timeline below follows Harrison's contributions gathered in this Atlas.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | A | Rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice HAR2009 Landmark ITP result: rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice. |
| 2011 | A | Rapamycin, but not resveratrol or simvastatin, extends life span of genetically heterogeneous mice MIL2011 Confirms rapamycin, but not resveratrol or simvastatin, extends lifespan in the ITP's mouse cohorts. |
| 2012 | A | Evaluation of resveratrol, green tea extract, curcumin, oxaloacetic acid, and medium-chain triglyceride oil on life span of genetically heterogeneous mice STR2012 None of five popular longevity compounds had a statistically significant effect on lifespan. The paper explicitly states the ITP's mission is to publish all results, positive or negative - the exact registry model this Atlas should emulate. |
| 2012 | A | Rapamycin slows aging in mice WIL2012 Answered a crucial objection: does rapamycin really slow AGING, or just prevent the cancers that kill mice? By showing slower age-related change across many tissues (heart, liver, tendon, activity), it argued for genuine slowing of aging. Honestly reported harms too - more cataracts and testicular degeneration - making it a balanced landmark, not hype. |
| 2014 | A | Acarbose, 17-α-estradiol, and nordihydroguaiaretic acid extend mouse lifespan preferentially in males. HAR2014 Shows acarbose, 17-alpha-estradiol and NDGA extend mouse lifespan preferentially by sex. |
| 2014 | A | Rapamycin-mediated lifespan increase in mice is dose and sex dependent and metabolically distinct from dietary restriction MIL2014 Rapamycin's lifespan extension in mice is dose-dependent and greater in females. |
| 2022 | A | Lifespan benefits for the combination of rapamycin plus acarbose and for captopril in genetically heterogeneous mice STR2022 NIA Interventions Testing Program C2017 cohort. In MALE mice, rapamycin plus acarbose started at 9 months produced a longer lifespan than either of the two prior ITP cohorts treated with rapamycin alone, suggesting the combination is more potent than its components used separately. In FEMALES the combination was neither better nor worse than rapamycin alone, which the authors relate to the limited survival benefit acarbose alone had shown in earlier female cohorts. Captopril gave a small but significant lifespan increase in females (4-5%). CAVEAT (important for how this is cited): the rapamycin-only comparison is HISTORICAL, against prior cohorts, not a concurrent rapamycin-only arm in the same experiment, so 'more potent than either component' is the authors' suggestion rather than a within-experiment randomised comparison. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 15
People with a profile here who share at least one study with David E. Harrison.
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- Randy Strong 7 shared studies Leads the San Antonio site of the NIA Interventions Testing Program, which tests each compound in parallel at three sites under one shared protocol. He first-authored the program's reports on resveratrol and other supplements (2012) and on rapamycin combined with acarbose (2022)
- Richard A. Miller 7 shared studies Leads the University of Michigan site of the NIA Interventions Testing Program. His papers showed that rapamycin extends mouse lifespan when started in middle age, and that the size of the benefit depends on dose and differs between males and females
- Clinton Astle 5 shared studies Long-time research associate of David Harrison at The Jackson Laboratory, with work on mouse blood stem cells and aging since the 1970s, and a co-author of the Interventions Testing Program papers that showed rapamycin extends mouse lifespan
- Nancy L. Nadon 5 shared studies Scientist and programme official at the US National Institute on Aging who oversaw research resources for aging biology and helped run the Interventions Testing Program that found rapamycin extends mouse lifespan
- Kevin Flurkey 4 shared studies Biologist of aging at The Jackson Laboratory who has studied mouse lifespan and hormones since the early 1980s and co-authored the Interventions Testing Program papers on rapamycin
- Zelton Dave Sharp 3 shared studies Molecular biologist at UT Health San Antonio who works on rapamycin and aging in mice, from the Interventions Testing Program lifespan studies to cancer prevention in tumour-prone mice
- Adam B. Salmon 2 shared studies Biologist of aging at UT Health San Antonio whose work in this Atlas spans rapamycin in mice and in common marmosets. He is a co-author on the Interventions Testing Program reports from the San Antonio site and on the marmoset rapamycin studies on blood markers, epigenetic age and the salivary gland
- David A. Sinclair Geneticist of aging at Harvard Medical School, known for work on sirtuins, NAD+ and the idea that aging stems from a loss of epigenetic information, who appears in this Atlas as a co-author on two mouse lifespan studies
- Elizabeth Fernandez Aging researcher at the Barshop Institute in San Antonio who has worked on rapamycin studies in mice and common marmosets, including the NIA Interventions Testing Program
- James F. Nelson Physiologist of aging at UT Health San Antonio who studies how calorie restriction, sex hormones and drugs change mouse lifespan, and a co-investigator on the Interventions Testing Program
- James L. Kirkland Founder of the field of senolytics, drugs that clear senescent cells, and a leader of clinical trials of ageing-targeted therapies
- John E Wilkinson Pathologist at the University of Michigan who examines animal tissues for aging and cancer studies, and first author of the 2012 paper showing that rapamycin slows many signs of aging in mice
- Martin A. Javors Pharmacologist and professor at UT Health San Antonio who directs an analytical laboratory for biochemical and drug measurements, and a co-author of rapamycin studies in mice and in older people
- Matt Kaeberlein Extended TOR/aging research from yeast to mice to pet dogs
- Vivian Diaz Aging researcher at the Barshop Institute in San Antonio who has worked for more than a decade on the mouse lifespan studies behind rapamycin's reputation as an anti-aging drug, including the Interventions Testing Program
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