Siegfried Hekimi (born 5 September 1956) is a Swiss former professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

and a professor in the Biology Department of

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, specializing in the study of aging. He rode in the 1982 Tour de France. After his cycling career, Hekimi obtained a Ph.D. in neurobiology at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. Hekimi was born in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, on 5 September 1956. He became a full professor in 2004 at

and his research has extended to include mouse models of aging and of age-dependent diseases.

Education

Between 1984 and 1988, he obtained a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, at the

, Switzerland.

Research

Hekimi uses nematode Caenorhabditis elegans for translational studies in the biology of aging; in particular the genetic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of the organisms. He believes the findings will translate into higher organisms like mice and humans.The Molecular Genetics of Aging pp 81-112 , Crossroads of Aging in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegan

/ref>

References

External links

* 1956 births Living people Swiss male cyclists Cyclists from Geneva University of Geneva alumni Academic staff of McGill University 20th-century Swiss sportsmen {{Switzerland-cycling-bio-stub