It was early 2005 when I first read about SENS. I had already applied to several graduate schools at that time and was waiting to hear back, but as I delved into that article in Popular Science I knew this was something I wanted to be involved in. A lot of people were studying aging, but no one had a plan like this. I emailed Aubrey and it wasn't long before I was headed to Rice University in Houston; first to perform some preliminary research into the LysoSENS project, and then to begin a PhD studying microbial oxysterol degradation.

Oxidized cholesterol is believed to be associated with several pathological conditions, including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. The idea is that our bodies lack sufficient means to completely degrade all compounds, so some end up accumulating over a long period of time and contribute to aging. The main purpose of my research is to identify and isolate enzymes capable of transforming one of these recalcitrant compounds, 7-ketocholesterol (7KC), to a form that is less toxic, or more easily eliminated from the cell.

Since humans have a relatively limited capacity to transform 7KC, I began my research by identifying bacteria that could perform the task more effectively. One particular bacteria, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, has ended up being the focus of my thesis work. Some of my research revealed that RHA1 could remove the 7-keto group from 7KC, essentially eliminating its toxicity. This has lead to my current project of identifying and isolating the responsible enzymes.