Dr. Rando is the Director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA where he is a professor of Neurology and Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. Research in the Rando laboratory lies at the intersection of basic stem cell biology and the biology of aging. Dr. Rando’s research has revealed how stem cells respond to cues from their environment to modulate their ability to maintain tissues or engage in tissue repair. His laboratory is credited with pioneering work in stem cell aging that revealed how factors in blood can promote stem cell activity in young individuals and suppress it in older individuals. This work has led to novel clinical trials for age-related disorders.
Dr. Rando has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and has trained over 100 students, fellows, and visiting scholars, most of whom have continued in biomedical research careers. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, an Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award in Aging, the “Breakthroughs in Gerontology” Award from the American Federation for Aging Research, and a Transformative Research Award from the NIH. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.