According to the UN Population Division worldwide 520 million people are older than 65 years of age and projections estimate that this number will have tripled by 2050, accounting for every sixth person of the global population. Unfortunately, the decrease in mortality is not reflected in a proportional reduction in morbidity. Thus, the demographic change will inevitably lead to a drastic increase of age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, cardiopathy, diabetes, cancer or Alzheimer’s . As a consequence the rising prevalence of disease will pose major challenges for our healthcare system and economy in the near future. Moreover, we will be faced with wide-reaching social challenges due to the shift of our society to a higher proportion of elderly living in disability. In order to provide suitable intervention strategies improving healthspan for elderly it is crucial to get a better understanding of the aging process and the mechanisms underlying the development of age-related diseases.

We are particularly interested in the changes of innate immunity taking place during the process of aging and the question of whether such alterations are plastic enough to be reversed with specific intervention strategies. Extension of helathspan would improve the wellbeing for elderly people and help to significantly reduce the burden on healthcare systems.