Circadian Clock and Aging

This book aims to understand the inherent circadian cycles of biological processes and their role in maintaining health and healing a variety of diseases. The book is divided into eight sections. The first section introduces circadian rhythms and aging. The second section focuses on the detailed mechanistic approach of oscillatory pathways in mammals. The next section summarizes the sensitivity of the biological clock towards light and the circadian response to melatonin in mammals. The fourth section addresses the circadian architecture at the cellular level and introduces an age-dependent experimental model of rodents for subsequent biochemical and molecular investigations. The subsequent section covers the complexity of circadian regulation in mitochondrial dynamics and its impact on aging. The sixth section of the book discusses the findings obtained from different experimental approaches as a critical threat to the functioning of clock regulatory mechanisms and its associated health consequences during aging in humans and animal models. The circadian oscillatory mechanisms that are dysregulated and might play an important role in the development and progression of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Huntington’s Disease (HD), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), etc are discussed in the next section. Towards the end, the book explores the circadian clock as a possible drug target to restore circadian oscillations.

Dr. Syed Ibrahim Rizvi is a Professor of Biochemistry and Dean of Research and Development at University of Allahabad, India. He is a Visiting Professor to Ohio State University (USA), University of Rome, University of Milan, University of Athens, University of Nice, University of Szeged, University of Pisa, Karolinska Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Istanbul University and Bangladesh Institute of Health Sciences. He has also been an invited speaker to major conferences in USA, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Thailand. Prof Rizvi has done seminal research work in Chronobiology, mechanism(s) of aging, antiaging interventions, and lifespan. He has published extensively in high impact factor journals. Till date, Prof Rizvi has published more than 200 research papers. He is on the editorial board of the prestigious Springer journal Biogerontology. Prof Rizvi has been a recipient of grants from the International Cell Research Organization, Federation of European Biochemical Societies, European Molecular Biology Organization, Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, International Foundation for Science, Department of Biotechnology (Govt of India) and Department of Science and Technology (Govt of India). Prof Rizvi has been conferred with the Academic Excellence Award of University of Allahabad in 2016. Prof Rizvi has also written many popular science articles which have been published in national newspapers. He is a member of Indian Gerontological Society, Society of Biological Chemists, National Academy of Sciences India, and Asian Network for Research on Antidiabetic Plants.

Dr. Gaurav Majumdar is working as Assistant Professor of Zoology at University of Allahabad, Allahabad. He did his Ph.D. in chronobiology from University of Delhi. His research has focused on the role of circadian and seasonal factors in regulating avian migratory physiology. After his Ph.D., Dr Majumdar acquired two prestigious European post-doctoral research fellowships (BELSPO and FWO) to continue his post-doctoral research at the Bio-imaging laboratory, University of Antwerp, Belgium where he worked on the role of light, opsin molecules and circadian clock in mediating neuro-degenerative diseases with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease. He then moved to University of Glasgow to work on molecular mechanism involved in seasonal clock regulation of animal physiology. He has published extensively on circadian clock and its interphase with seasonal physiology of vertebrates. Dr. Gaurav is an executive member of Indian Society for Chronobiology (InSC) and Association of Avian Biologist in India (AABI). Recently he was selected as Young associate (2024) by Indian National Science Academy (INSA). He identifies himself as Son of Snigdha & Sibdas, Husband of Garima and Father of Shinoy.