Ageing is a process of life-long functional decline, and is the major risk factor for many human diseases. The world population is ageing dramatically, posing a great challenge for our healthcare system. Research from the ageing field has demonstrated that the ageing process can be ameliorated by various genetic and environmental interventions. Dietary restriction (DR), reduced food intake without malnutrition, is the most effective intervention to lengthen healthspan and lifespan in animals and most likely also in humans. Interestingly, different nutrient elements in the diet are not equal in producing the response to DR. Protein, or its building blocks amino acids, has been shown to be most crucial. Restriction of specific amino acids, e.g. methionine and the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) leucine, isoleucine, and valine, induces health benefits and is itself sufficient to extend lifespan. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown. Therefore, my lab focuses on understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of amino acid-induced healthy ageing and developing new strategies to extend healthspan and lifespan.

01.2009 – 12.2013  Ph.D., Cell Biology

                                Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Switzerland

09.2005 – 07.2008  M.S., Biomedical Science

                                Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences

09.2001 – 06.2005  B.S., Biochemistry

                                        Nanjing University, China

   

01.2023 -                PI, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences

07.2015 - 11.2022  Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing

01.2014 - 06.2015  Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Bern

​

   

1. Jiongming Lu, Ulrike Temp, Andrea Müller-Hartmann, Jacqueline Esser, Sebastian Grönke, Linda Partridge. Sestrin is a key regulator of stem cell function and lifespan in response to dietary amino acids. Nature Aging, 2021, doi: 10.1038/s43587-020-00001-7.

Featured in Nature News & Views: Cristal M. Hill & Matt Kaeberlein: Anti-ageing effects of protein restriction unpacked, doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-03662-x.

2. Manh Tin Ho^#, Jiongming Lu^#, Dominique Brunssen, Beat Suter. A translation-independent function of PheRS activates growth and proliferation in Drosophila. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 2021, doi: 10.1242/dmm.048132. ^#Equal contribution.

Featured in the First Person interview series by Disease Models & Mechanisms.

3. Manh Tin Ho, Jiongming Lu, Paula Vazquez-Pianzola, Beat Suter. α-Phenylalanyl tRNA synthetase competes with Notch signaling through its N-terminal domain. PLoS Genet 18(4):e1010185. 2022, doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010185

4. Jiongming Lu, Steven J Marygold, Walid H Gharib, Beat Suter. The Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases of Drosophila melanogaster. Fly, 2015;9(2):53-61, doi: 10.1080/19336934.2015.1101196.

5. Jiongming Lu, Martin Bergert, Anita Walther, Beat Suter. Double-sieving-defective aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase causes protein mistranslation and affects cellular physiology and development. Nature Communications, 2014, 5:5650, doi: 10.1038/ncomms6650.

6. Jie Liu, Wen Zhou, Shao-Shun Li, Zhe Sun, Bingzhen Lin, Yuan-Yuan Lang, Jia-You He, Xihua Cao, Tingdong Yan, Li Wang, Jiongming Lu, Young-Hoon Han, Yu Cao, Xiao-kun Zhang, and Jin-Zhang Zeng. Modulation of orphan nuclear receptor Nur77-mediated apoptotic pathway by acetylshikonin and analogs. Cancer Research, 2008, 68(21):8871-80, doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-1972.

Jiongming Lu, Jie Chen, Jinzhang Zeng, Xiaokun Zhang. Application of Triptolide mediated by Retinoid X Receptor a and heat shock protein. Chinese Patent: CN101574386, filed May 09, 2008, and issued November 11, 2009.

​

Our lab combines chemical defined diet, genetic tools with metabolic and genomic analyses, using culture cells, fruit flies, and mice as models, to study mechanisms of healthy ageing and develop novel health-promoting interventions. The research is built around the following three specific aims:

1. Characterize individual amino acid effects in response to stress and ageing,

2. Explore novel mechanisms in amino acid translation, metabolism, and sensing,

3. Investigate mechanisms to regulate Sestrin activity and move towards Sestrin translational research.

These three aims of our research are independent but well-interconnected. We believe that our work will ultimately benefit both healthy and diseased individuals, therefore ameliorating the challenges to the healthcare system posed by population ageing.

​

1. Life Sciences Switzerland Annual Meeting, 2021, Switzerland

Sestrin is a key regulator of stem cell function and lifespan in response to dietary amino acids

2. CSHL Conference: Mechanism of Aging, 2016, USA

TORC1 amino-acid sensing pathway in lifespan regulation of Drosophila melanogaster

3. Gordon Research Conference: Translation Machinery in Health and Disease, 2015, USA

Double-sieving defective tRNA synthetase causes protein mistranslation and affects cellular physiology in Drosophila

2015 - 2016  Early Postdoc Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation

​