Researcher
Irina & Michael Conboy
Last updated Sat May 30 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Background
Irina and Michael Conboy are co-directors of the Conboy Lab in UC Berkeley’s Bioengineering department. Mike Conboy works on muscle stem cells; Irina Conboy on systemic factors and rejuvenation strategies.
Key contributions
- Re-launched heterochronic parabiosis as a tool in 2005, showing young blood restored muscle and liver progenitor function in old mice.
- Identified TGF-β/GDF11 dysregulation as key to age-related stem- cell decline.
- Pivotal 2020 paper: "neutral blood exchange" — diluting old plasma with saline-albumin produced rejuvenation effects similar to young-blood addition. This shifted the field from a "young factors" framing toward an "old factors removal" framing.
- Mechanistic basis for therapeutic plasma exchange as a longevity intervention.
Translational implications
The dilution finding supports approaches like therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in humans as a potentially simpler route to systemic rejuvenation than identifying and re-supplying specific young factors.
Related entries
Plasma exchange, Altered intercellular communication, Tony Wyss-Coray, Stem cell exhaustion.
References
- Mehdipour, M. et al. Rejuvenation of three germ layers tissues by exchanging old blood plasma with saline-albumin. Aging 12, 8790–8819 (2020).