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Research Interests
My research is broadly focused around the comparative biology of aging, or “biogerontology”. I am interested in exploring ways of integrating evolutionary, physiological, and cellular and molecular approaches for understanding why animals (including humans) age, why some animals live and reproduce longer than others, and how they make phenotypic and physiological tradeoffs between reproduction and long-term somatic maintenance. I am particularly intrigued by animal species—including birds—that age extremely slowly for their body sizes and metabolic rates, and by the idea that these exceptionally long-lived animals have special adaptations for preventing aging-related disease. Over the last 15 years I have collaborated in studies of aging in opossums, laboratory mice, birds, fish, and humans. Specific research approaches have included monitoring demographic, reproductive and clinical aspects of aging in wild and captive mammal populations, caloric restriction studies, testing the resistance to oxidative stressors of avian and mammalian cells, and histological examination of aging-related changes in ovarian follicular profiles in female birds. Studies currently in progress include: demographic analysis of reproductive aging in female vertebrates exploring the evolutionary basis of human menopause; comparisons of histological and endocrinological aspects of ovarian aging in short- and long-lived female birds; comparative analysis of the relationship between avian sexual selection and life span; and a study comparing aging and life span in wild and domestic zebrafish strains. I plan to continue studies of avian aging, reproduction, and developmental tradeoffs, as well as to explore other “nontraditional” animal models for studies of aging and longevity.
Representative Publications
D.J. Holmes and M.A. Ottinger. 2006. Wild and domestic birds as models for the biology of aging. M. Conn, Ed., Handbook of Models for Human Aging. Elsevier Press.
Reznick, D., M. Bryant, D. Holmes. 2006. The evolution of senescence and post-reproductive life span in guppies. Public Library of Science: Biology 4(1):136-143
D. Holmes and S. Austad. 2004. Declining immunity with age in the wild? Evidence from bird populations. Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE), Science Online (21), pe22.
D.J. Holmes. 2004. Naturally long-lived animal models for the study of slow aging and longevity. Proceedings of 10th Congress, International Association of Biomedical Gerontology, Cambridge, England. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1019:483-5
D.J. Holmes and M.A. Ottinger. 2003. Birds as long-lived animal models for the study of aging. Experimental Gerontology 38:1365-1375.
D.J. Holmes, S.L. Thomson, J. Wu and M.A. Ottinger. 2003. Reproductive aging in female birds. Experimental Gerontology, 38(7): 751-756.
D.J. Holmes. 2003. DBA/2 Mouse. Inbred Rodent Resource, Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE), Science Online, Vol. 2003, Issue 44, pp. as3, 5 Nov.
D.J. Holmes. 2003. F344 Rat. Inbred Rodent Resource, Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE), Science Online, Vol. 2003, Issue 36, pp. as2, 10 Sept.
Ogburn, C.E., G.M. Martin, M.A. Ottinger, D.J. Holmes, K. Carlberg and S.N. Austad. 2001. Exceptional cellular resistance to oxidative damage in long-lived birds requires active gene expression. Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences 56A:B1-7.
D.J. Holmes, R. Flückiger, and S.N. Austad. 2001. Biology of aging in birds: an update. Experimental Gerontology 36:869-883.
Austad, S.N. and D.J. Holmes. 1999. Chapter 19: Evolutionary approaches to probing aging mechanisms. In B.P. Yu (Ed.). Methods in Aging Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Ogburn, C.E., S.N. Austad, D.J. Holmes, J.V. Kiklevich. K. Gollahon, and G.M. Martin. 1998. Cultured renal epithelial cells from birds and mice: Enhanced resistance of avian cells to oxidative stress and DNA damage. Journal of Gerontology, Biological Sciences 53A:B287-292.
Holmes, D.J. and S.N. Austad. 1995. Birds as animal models for the comparative biology of aging: A prospectus. Journal of Gerontology, Biological Sciences 50A:59-66.