Division of Biology and Medicine
Center on the Biology of Aging

Brett Baggett

Trainee

Biography

Degrees working toward: PhD
Mentor: Gideon Koren

 Description of trainee's research project and progress: Brett Baggett is a student in the lab of Professor Gideon Koren. His project examines why the incidence of sudden cardiac death increases dramatically as we age and how changes in the wound healing process following heart attack (myocardial infarction) might contribute to this increased risk. Transient cellular senescence plays beneficial roles in wound healing, but Brett's project investigates the age-associated detrimental molecular and cellular roles of persistent senescence in regulating inflammation, fibrosis, and arrhythmogenic cardiac remodeling using infarcted aged and young rabbits, a myocardial infarction model of mice with cardiac fibroblast-specific up- or down-regulation of senescence, and with human tissue samples from patients who suffered myocardial infarction. He matriculated in the MCB Program in September 2015, and is currently in his seventh year in the MCB Program. He was supported by this T32 from 09/01/15 to 08/31/18). His thesis defense is planned for December 2021 (time to Ph.D. defense, 6.3 years). His work has already contributed to one published paper, and two more are in preparation. 

 Papers published:

  • Boone PM, Yuan B, Campbell IM, Scull JC, Withers MA, Baggett BC, Beck CR, Shaw CJ, Stankiewicz P, MorettiP, Goodwin WE, Hein N, Fink JK, Seong M-W, Seo SH, Park SS, Karbassi ID, Batish SD, Ordóñez-Ugalde A, Quintáns B, Sobrido M-J, Stemmler S, Lupski JR. The Alu-rich genomic architecture of SPAST predisposes to diverse and functionally distinct disease-associated CNV alleles. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2014, 95(2), 143–161.
  • Boone PM, Campbell IM, Baggett BC, Soens ZT, Rao MM, Hixson PM, Patel A, Bi W, Cheung SW, Lalani SR, Beaudet AL, Stankiewicz P, Shaw CA, Lupski JR. Deletions of recessive disease genes: CNV contribution to carrier states and disease-causing alleles. Genome Research. 2013, 23(9), 1383-94. 

 Workshops attended: 

  • Brown MCB Data Club, 2015-present
  • Providence Area Aging Research Forum, 2015-present
  • Boston Aging Meeting September 21, 2016
  • Attended the Comparative and Experimental Approaches to Aging Biology Research course at MDI Biological Laboratory, June 19-July 3, 2016
  • Harvard/Glenn Symposium on Aging, June 26, 2017

Honors:

  • Poster award: 1st place in Basic Sciences at 25th Annual Lifespan Hospitals Research Symposium poster session at Rhode Island Hospital
  • Presented research poster at 2016 and 2017 MCB Graduate Program retreats
  • Presented research poster at 2016 and 2017 Molecular Biology of Aging retreats