Summary
This project aims to use DNA repair and damage as a tool to personalize aging and aging-related diseases, with a particular focus on US veterans who are at increased risk for lung diseases such as COPD and lung cancer. The global population, including our veterans, is aging rapidly, with the percentage of people aged 60 and over projected to equal that of those younger than 15 by 2050. Aging is characterized by a range of characteristic DNA alterations, including decreasing telomere length, epigenetic alterations, and genomic instability, which are considered hallmarks of aging. Decreased expr
