Biology of ageing & ageing-related diseases

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is an extremely rare premature ageing disease in which patients age six times faster than normal. The disease is caused by a mutation in the lamin A gene, which causes an aberrantly spliced form of lamin A called progerin to be produced. In my lab, we study ageing by inducing progerin expression in a genetically engineered cell system and then using high-throughput imaging and genome-wide screening technologies to investigate the molecular mechanisms that drive cellular ageing. We are interested in understanding how progerin disrupts proteostasis in the cell, as well as identifying new anti-ageing pathways that can be used to treat disease.

Research website

Positions held

  • Since 2021: Group Leader, Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz
  • 2015 ‐ 2019: NIH Research Fellow, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA
  • 2011 ‐ 2015: NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA

Education

  • 2004 ‐ 2010: PhD in Molecular Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
  • 2001 ‐ 2004: MSc in Biological Health Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
  • 2000 ‐ 2001: BS in Health Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Selected publications by Nard Kubben

Kreienkamp R*, Graziano S*, Coll-Bonfill N*, Bedia-Diaz G, Cybulla E, Vindigni A, Dorsett D, Kubben N, Batista LFZ and Gonzalo S (2018) A cell-intrinsic interferon-like response links replication stress to cellular aging caused by progerinCell Rep, 22:2006–2015 (*indicates joint contribution) Link

Kubben N and Misteli T (2017) Shared molecular and cellular mechanisms of premature ageing and ageing-associated diseasesNat Rev Mol Cell Biol, 18:595–609 Link

Kubben N, Zhang W, Wang L, Voss TC, Yang J, Qu J, Liu GH# and Misteli T# (2016) Repression of the antioxidant NRF2 pathway in premature agingCell, 165:1361–1374 (#indicates joint correspondence) Link

Kubben N, Brimacombe KR, Donegan M, Li Z and Misteli T (2016) A high-content imaging-based screening pipeline for the systematic identification of anti-progeroid compoundsMethods, 96:46–58 Link

Vidak S, Kubben N, Dechat T# and Foisner R# (2015) Proliferation of progeria cells is enhanced by lamina-associated polypeptide 2α (LAP2α) through expression of extracellular matrix proteinsGenes Dev, 29:2022–2036 (#indicates joint correspondence) Link

Pegoraro G, Kubben N, Wickert U, Göhler H, Hoffmann K and Misteli T (2009) Ageing-related chromatin defects through loss of the NURD complexNat Cell Biol, 11:1261–1267 Link