Dr. George A. Kuchel
George A. Kuchel, MD CM, FRCP, AGSF, FGSA, FAAAS is a trailblazer in aging research and a transformative leader in geriatric medicine. He is Director of the UConn Center on Aging, Director of the UConn Pepper Center, Director of the Geroscience Education and Training Network, and Director of the KAPP-Sen Tissue Mapping Center.
As a Professor of Medicine and the Travelers Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Connecticut, George has dedicated his career to pushing the boundaries of medical innovation and advancing both clinical care and research strategies for aging populations.
Recently invited to the NIH National Advisory Council on Aging, he directs several groundbreaking NIH funded initiatives — including the UConn Center on Aging, the UConn Pepper Center, the Geroscience Education and Training Network, and the KAPP-Sen Tissue Mapping Center — and spearheads cutting-edge research in Precision Gerontology.
George’s leadership is defined by a steadfast commitment to collaboration and innovation in aging research. As Director of the UConn Center on Aging, he has forged interdisciplinary partnerships that promote basic science, clinical investigation, and public health. At the center, he has also launched a pioneering Precision Gerontology research program that leverages state-of-the-art discoveries to pinpoint risk factors and mechanisms underlying aging and chronic diseases.
By addressing individual variability in aging, this initiative paves the way for precise, targeted interventions. His vision and guidance were further recognized in 2021 when the National Institute on Aging awarded the UConn Center on Aging a $7 million NIH grant, which also included the creation of the UConn Pepper Center — an integral member of a prestigious national network dedicated to advancing gerontological research and promoting independence through education.
George is also among the founding members of the Geroscience Education and Training Network. The Geroscience Education and Training Network is an initiative that brings together experts, institutions, and resources in order to address the pressing need for skilled medical professionals and researchers in Geroscience. The aim of the network is to ameliorate this need through education, mainly through the establishment of a Certificate in Geroscience and the development and dissemination of educational materials to medical students and researchers.
George also serves as the project leader for the KAPP-Sen Tissue Mapping Center. This collaborative effort unites six leading institutions within the Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet) to develop a comprehensive map of cellular senescence in healthy human tissues. The project centers on three main objectives.
First, it brings together experts to identify and analyze the distribution and diversity of senescent cells, along with the specific signals they release, in tissues such as the kidney, adipose tissue, pancreas, and placenta. Second, it systematically collects high-quality tissue samples from a variety of sources, including kidney transplant donors, C-section deliveries, and outpatient biopsies. Third, it employs advanced methods — like single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, immunohistochemistry, and assessments of telomere-associated DNA damage — to produce robust, detailed datasets. Ultimately, this integrative analysis will yield a precise atlas of human cellular senescence, establishing a foundation for future translational and clinical advances in aging research.
At the core of George’s research is a commitment to connecting laboratory discoveries with clinical insights. His work not only examines individual differences in key areas such as mobility, urinary function, cognition, and immune defense but also focuses on pinpointing the risk factors and underlying mechanisms driving functional decline. Dedicated to translational science, George continually integrates findings from cellular and animal studies with observations in human subjects — transforming descriptive associations into a solid mechanistic understanding of aging.
Thus, by uniting diverse research streams, George’s work in Precision Gerontology sets the stage for individualized, evidence-based interventions that address the unique challenges of aging. A notable example of this work is his coauthorship of a paper evaluating SenSkin, a skin-specific gene set intended to be used to study cell senescence. Read Senskin™: A Human Skin‑Specific Cellular Senescence Gene Set.
George’s academic journey laid a solid foundation for his impactful contributions. He received rigorous medical training at McGill Medical School, which was further honed by an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Montreal General Hospital. He advanced his clinical acumen through specialized training at Harvard Medical School via the Kaiser Faculty Development Program in General Internal Medicine, and he completed a fellowship in Geriatrics and Gerontology in collaboration with Beth Israel Hospital. His subsequent postdoctoral work in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard, combined with focused studies in Neurobiology and Gerontology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, uniquely positioned him at the intersection of clinical expertise and cutting-edge research.
Complementing his academic and research excellence, George has been honored with numerous prestigious awards that underscore his leadership and contributions to aging research. His fellowships with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American College of Physicians, the Gerontological Society of America, and the American Geriatrics Society highlight his standing on both national and international stages.
Notable accolades, such as the Carole and Ray Neag Medal of Honor from the University of Connecticut and the John A. Hartford Leadership Award, further cement his role as an inspirational force in improving geriatric care and research. In 2023, George was elected a member of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research and in 2025 was invited to serve on the National Advisory Council on Aging.
Throughout his distinguished career, George has exemplified the perfect synergy between scientific innovation and compassionate care. His pioneering work in Precision Gerontology has not only advanced our fundamental understanding of aging processes but has also translated into tangible improvements in quality of life for older adults. As both mentor and visionary, George continues to inspire the next generation of geriatric specialists while building crucial bridges between laboratory discoveries and bedside interventions.
His holistic perspective — recognizing the individual variability in aging experiences — has established a new paradigm in geriatric medicine that promises more personalized, effective approaches to healthy longevity. George’s enduring legacy lies not just in his numerous accolades and contributions to research, but in his unwavering dedication to reimagining what aging can mean for humanity in the 21st century and beyond.
Watch Prof. George Kuchel on Education in Healthy Longevity Medicine | Longevity Education Hub Webinar and Age Related Changes That Impact Drug Metabolism.
Read Expanding Geroscience to Vulnerable Populations in Mid-Late Life: Medicaid Home-and Community-Based Service Users and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals and Real-World Insights Into Dementia Diagnosis Trajectory and Clinical Practice Patterns Unveiled by Natural Language Processing: Development and Usability Study.
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