Alessio Lanna

Alessio Lanna is an Italian-born, UK-trained biologist who has been researching anti-aging and rejuvenating molecular processes since 2011 at University College London (UCL) and Oxford University. He is the founder and CEO of Sentcell, a New Chemical Entity (NCE) company developing first-in-class therapies for human rejuvenation. Lanna's research focuses on T-cells and their roles in maintaining functionality over time. He is developing a dual-based approach to reverse the aging process, either by rejuvenating the aging clock at later points in life or delaying its onset by acting at an earlier point. Lanna's research has been published in academic journals including Nature Immunology and Nature Cell Biology.
==Early life and education==
Lanna started his academic career in Rome, Italy, where he undertook summa cum laude Bachelor of Science (Bsc) and Master of Research (M. Res) in pharmaceutical biotechnologies at Tor Vergata and Sapienza Universities of Rome. Lanna later completed a Ph.D. at UCL through a Medical Research Council Ph.D. studentship from 2011 to 2016. He then continued his research as a Sir Henry Wellcome Trust Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford from 2016 to 2019, credited as one the most prestigious Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the United Kingdom.
Lanna currently holds an Honorary Professorship at UCL in recognition of his groundbreaking research in the field of cellular aging and T lymphocyte senescence. He was the first to identify the multi-druggable pro-aging sMAC complex and the anti-aging mechanism of telomere vesicle transfer at the immune synapse between APCs and T lymphocytes.
==Research focus and impact==
In 2019, Lanna founded Sentcell to develop innovative compounds that could rejuvenate the immune system. His current work is focused on the sMAC (Senescent Macromolecular Complex), a large macromolecular complex that forms during the aging of T cells and other cell types. The formation of sMAC has been linked to the decline of the immune system, and increased risk of infections, cancers, and death.
Lanna is credited with leading Sentcell's efforts to develop innovative and cutting-edge compounds and strategies for human rejuvenation treatments through cell rejuvenation. Under his leadership, the company has made significant progress in its research and development efforts and has established itself as a promising IMPD/IND stage biotech startup. His latest discoveries on telomere transfer illuminated a different rejuvenation process that acts prior to telomerase in cells introducing the possibilities of novel forms of prophylactic therapies of age. This suggests that telomere transplants may have therapeutic implications for aging and its associated diseases, which could be independent of telomerase reactivation.
==Selected publications==
The regulation of T cell senescence and metabolism by P38 mapkinase signaling]. Lanna, A., Akbar, A.N. (2017) DOI 10.1093/geroni/igx004.4558
**[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27787797/ Measuring Telomerase Activity in Senescent Human T Cells Upon Genetic Modification. Lanna, A. (2017) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-6548-9_10
Category:Italian people
Category:Sapienza University of Rome alumni
Category:University of Rome Tor Vergata alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:Biologists