People today are living longer than ever before, although the biology of aging remains only partially understood. What we do know is that over time, subtle changes occur within our cells, causing them to lose efficiency in repairing damage and producing energy. Scientists have discovered that metabolism—the process that converts food into energy—plays a central role in these age-related changes.
Andrew Parkhitko, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, is at the forefront of this research. His lab investigates how metabolism changes as organisms age and how adjusting these pathways could help slow or even reverse parts of the aging process. Beyond discovery, Parkhitko’s work is driven by a strong translational focus—he explains, “I have a very translational mind. My biggest achievement is when research can actually be used in humans.”
Using fruit flies (Drosophila) as a model, Parkhitko’s team studies how specific amino acids, like tyrosine, affect longevity. He emphasizes that working with fruit flies “gives you a power to discover things you were probably missing,” due to their short 60-80 day lifespan, the ease of gene manipulation, and the striking similarities between human and fly aging pathways. Through these experiments, Parkhitko and his team have discovered that as we age, certain molecules build up in our cells and interfere with normal chemical reactions. Specifically, they found that the metabolism of the amino acid methionine is highly affected with aging.
“I always was interested more in the mechanistic aspect,” notes Parkhitko, “where you don’t just describe what happens—you target these changes and ask if they’re causal or correlational.” This perspective has shaped Parkhitko’s pioneering approach to studying metabolism as an interconnected network rather than a collection of isolated pathways. While many aging studies focus on a single molecule or enzyme, Parkhitko’s lab looks at how multiple chemical pathways interact and influence one another over time. To do this, his team uses advanced genetic tools, which lets them turn several genes on or off simultaneously. They combine these tools with metabolomics, a technology that measures hundreds of small molecules inside cells to capture how the body’s chemistry changes with age.
Parkhitko also applies these methods to understand how metabolism changes in the brain, especially in neurodegenerative disorders associated with aging such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease. His findings suggest that while aging and neurodegeneration share certain metabolic patterns, they also involve distinct chemical changes. This insight helps scientists distinguish between normal aging and disease processes, an important step toward developing targeted therapies that could preserve brain health later in life.
