Understanding a rare disease to understand us all.

The Central Question

One gene. Two timelines.

Hutchinson–Gilford Progeria Syndrome arises from a single mutation in the LMNA gene, producing a toxic protein fragment known as progerin. In children who carry it, many of the biological hallmarks associated with old age appear within a matter of years.

Studying how one genetic change compresses a lifetime of cellular aging into childhood gives us a rare, sharpened lens on the much slower process every one of us goes through — and a chance to ask whether the two are more related than they first appear.