Toren Finkel is Professor of Medicine at Division of Cardiology, Aging Institute. Toren Finkel studies signaling pathways in aging and disease. For over twenty years, his research group has focused on a range of issues involved in mitochondrial function, cellular metabolism, oxidative stress, and aging. Due to the wide span of their biological interests, Finkel's lab has developed expertise in mitochondrial assays, cell and molecular biology approaches, and the generation of mouse models along with whole animal physiological measurements. Throughout the years, they have worked towards a long-term goal to uncover the molecular basis of mammalian aging and age-related diseases through the study of a variety of different cellular pathways including stem cell self-renewal, reactive oxygen species, sirtuins, autophagy, mTOR signaling and mitochondrial metabolism. Their focus in the last several years has been whether a decline in autophagy might phenocopy aging, strategies to detect and modify in vivo mitophagy and the genetic dissection of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex. The laboratory is situated within the Aging Institute which provides a highly collaborative and interactive environment with researchers focused on various disciplines including those studying the basic biology of aging (e.g. the role of DNA damage), as well as those individuals more focused on age-related diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis). As part of this effort, there is also a small molecule/high throughput discovery unit.