Areas of Specialty:

• Mitochondria

• Telomeres

• Cellular senescence

João Passos

Mayo Clinic, United States

Dr. João Passos is Professor of Physiology at the Mayo Clinic and Director of the Cell and Molecular Aging Laboratory. He also serves as Associate Director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging and is a contributor to the NIH-funded SenNet Consortium, which aims to map senescent cells across tissues using spatial and single-cell approaches. His work focuses on understanding how cellular senescence contributes to tissue dysfunction and how these processes may be targeted to promote healthy aging.

Passos’ research has provided insights into how mitochondria shape the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). His group showed that mitochondrial function influences the inflammatory program in senescent cells, and that the release of mitochondrial DNA and RNA into the cytosol can engage innate immune pathways, linking mitochondrial stress to inflammatory signaling.

In parallel, his work on telomeres has contributed to understanding how persistent telomere-associated DNA damage promotes aging. This work indicates that telomere damage can accumulate independently of cell division and telomere length, contributing to sustained cellular stress and tissue dysfunction.