Daniela Bakula

At a glance

• Researcher at the Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen (Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine).
• Works on the basic mechanisms of ageing, including mitophagy — clearing out worn mitochondria — and on finding interventions that support healthy ageing.
• Co-organiser of the annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) meeting in Copenhagen, one of the largest gatherings in ageing research, and co-author of its meeting reports.
• Co-authored ‘Rethinking the heritability of aging’ in Science (2026), on how large the role of genes in lifespan really is.
• Has also published on ‘replacement-based’ rejuvenation strategies, such as replacing cells, tissues or blood components, and what they mean for science and the clinic.
• Relevant because she sits at the centre of the international field that decides which ageing interventions move on to clinical trials.