Recently, there has been a lot of scientific interest in the aging process. Some of the biggest questions to be asked by scientists lately concern whether or not we can turn off the genes that cause aging. Can we stop hair from turning gray? Can we look like we are 20 well into our 80s? Many people wonder whether we can find a way to live forever.

There are many scientists studying the subject of aging, but they are definitely starting small. As a researcher, Gizem Donmez studies molecules and even the single genes responsible for regulating lifespan. Gizem Donmez isn’t looking to stop aging; instead, she is looking at the process of aging in the brain, and what happens when diseases cause degeneration of the brain and brain tissue.

“As a young child, I was always interested in aging. I wanted to know why we age and if everyone aged the same way. As people had asked for centuries, I wanted to know if there was a way to stop aging,” recalls Gizem Donmez. As a student, she got closer to finding those answers with each advanced degree she earned. Upon the completion of her PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry, she moved to the United States where she began research on the role of sirtuins in neurodegenerative diseases.

“Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of people. These include diseases related to age like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease – the diseases we attribute with old age and poor cognition,” says Gizem Donmez.

Gizem Donmez was hired to conduct her research at the Department of Neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine in October of 2011. Since then, she has published multiple science articles in regards to her findings – five in 2012, and three scheduled for publication in 2013. “My hope is that my research on sirtuins and neurodegenerative diseases will one day lead to better treatment, or even a cure for neurodegenerative diseases.

In 2012, Gizem Donmez received the 2012 New Scholar Award in Aging by the Ellison Medical Foundation. She also presented her research at the June 2013 Targeting Parkinson’s Disease Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.