Linda Partridge

Professor Dame Linda Partridge DBE FRS is a British-Irish biologist and geneticist, who researches the biological base and mechanisms of aging. She is a member of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (German Academy of Sciences).

With the help of model organisms, such as the fruit fly and the roundworm, she demonstrated that a somewhat reduced caloric intake can prolong the organism’s life. Her work has focused particularly on the role of nutrient-sensing pathways, diet, and geroprotective drugs. Linda partridge significantly contributed to a physiological understanding of aging processes.

The biologist studied the interaction of genetic and environmental factors and identified specific genes and signalling pathways that influence the aging processes and the predisposition for age-associated diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or Parkinson’s disease. She focuses on the signalling pathway of insulin and the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Together with her team she was able to show that a calorie restriction for roundworms is associated with a prolonged lifespan. This effect, however, only occurred if the reduced food intake did not lead to malnutrition. The life-prolonging effect of reduced food intake was also verified on mice.

The work of Linda Partridge also includes the development of pharmacological interventions that prolong the life and increase the vitality of certain organisms. She studies the potential of drugs that are already authorised for another indication to imitate the effect of calorie restriction and to delay the onset of age-induced disease.

As a researcher of ageing, she pursues an interdisciplinary approach that combines genetics, physiology, and evolutionary biology. Linda Partridge not only significantly advanced the fundamental research on processes of aging, but she also shaped the contemporary knowledge in genetics and evolutionary biology. Her recent research has identified the molecular, cellular, and organismal mechanisms of aging. She established biogerontology as an independent research area and co-founded the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging in Cologne, Germany. Furthermore, Linda Partridge taught at numerous universities around the globe and advocated both the further development of her discipline and its inclusion in the curriculum of various study courses in the life sciences.