If you’re looking for a scientist with a reputation for sexy behaviour, you’ve come to the right place. Jan Van Deursen is the founder of Unity Biotechnology, a company founded by him based on anti-ageing work. The company’s research is attracting big investors, including Jeff Bezos. While he earned over $1.49 million at the Mayo Clinic last year, the Mayo Clinic has since parted ways with him over his volatile reputation. Earlier this year, a German blog published the first report on Jan Van Deursen’sbehaviour. Since then, people who have worked with him have spoken out about his behaviour.
As chair of the Mayo Clinic Department of Biochemistry, Jan Van Deursen championed diversity among faculty members. His biochemistry department filled five out of six tenure-track positions with diverse applicants. He also worked closely with Mayo Clinic leadership to improve mentoring programs and institutional support for non-tenure-track faculty members. Because of his efforts, his research lab remained diverse throughout his tenure. But his legacy is far from over.
During his early years, Jan Van Deursen father was a carpenter. He often worked weekends, and his father would construct custom doors, windows, and staircases. Though his research was extremely successful, his childhood wasn’t idyllic. His mother developed symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis at age 10 and died during his senior year of high school. He owes his success to his mentors.
Originally from the Netherlands, Jan Van Deursen moved to the United States for research opportunities. He later pioneered the technique of editing stem cells in mice. He also established a laboratory at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. From 1999 to 2020, he became the head of the transgenic and gene knockout core facility. He later became the chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department at the Mayo Clinic.
After his successful time at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dr. van Deursen was recruited to the Mayo Clinic. There, he developed a mouse gene knockout core facility. His research program focuses on the role of aneuploidy in cancer as well as the molecular mechanisms of ageing. He has published numerous papers in prestigious scientific journals. You may want to check out Jan Van Deursen’s research portfolio and research at Mayo Clinic.
He also worked with colleagues from the field of medicine to help develop mouse models of human disease. Dr. van Deursen studied senescent cells, which accumulate in the body as we age. These cells do not die and remain in the body, but they lose their function and become dangerous. This research may help prolong the golden years of people who age due to the increased accumulation of senescent cells. There’s no doubt that this groundbreaking research will change the way chronic diseases are treated.
Unity Biotechnology is a cutting-edge biotech company that develops therapies for age-related diseases. Dr Van Deursen is a world-renowned expert in cellular senescence, which causes the body to become prone to ageing. Eliminating senescent cells can help slow down or reverse the ageing process and lead to therapies. He has also worked with several major pharmaceutical companies on developing age-related diseases, such as cancer and osteoarthritis.
In addition to his work on watersheds, Jan van Deursen’s passion for basic medical research inspired him to pursue a career in cancer research. His findings have led to the development of drugs that target the genes responsible for senescent cells. He was the first person to discover that the gene BubR1 is necessary for faithful chromosome segregation in mitosis. He also developed methods for a knockdown in mice, which have proven extremely useful in unravelling the functions of mammalian genes.
