This interview is with Dr David Simar, Editor in Chief of Healthy Aging & Clinical Care in the Elderly and a lecturer in clinical physiology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Tom: What would you say is the primary focus of your research effort (and how do you refer to your 'sub-area')?

Dr Simar: My research is primarily focused on the mechanisms involved in the aging process and their consequences and manifestations from a cellular to functional point of view. I am particularly interested on the alterations of the muscle function during aging and its link with insulin resistance and oxidative stress.

Tom: What do you consider to be the most significant developments arising from research in your area?

Dr Simar: I think that we have been able to isolate some potential candidates involved in the aging process and a constant evolution of the techniques, as well as the development of animal models, have been of great help in that sense. However, although some strategies have been shown to positively impact those mechanisms we are yet to find the “elixir of eternal youth”.

Tom: What do you consider to be the most significant open questions and research challenges in your area?

Dr Simar: I think that a significant open question in the broad field of aging is why do some of us age better than others. This question that could sound trivial becomes really important when you try to develop new strategies or treatments to address some dysfunctions developed during aging and when you observe highly variable and individual responses to similar treatments.

Tom: Tell us about your collaborative research. Who else do you directly work with and what are the aims of your collaboration?

Dr Simar: On a general point of view I am interested in the prevention or improvement of dysfunctions arising during aging. More specifically, I am interested in the impact of the aging process on skeletal muscle function. This involves collaborating with colleagues from Australia or overseas. With Professor Maria Fiatarone-Singh from the University of Sydney, we are particularly interested on the impact of resistance training on insulin resistance in elderly people. Insulin signalling in skeletal muscle is an aspect of great interest to me and I actively collaborate on this with Professor Margaret Morris from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Dr Hui Chen from the University of Technology in Sydney and Professor Jacques Mercier and Dr Karen Lambert from the INSERM in Montpellier (France). I also collaborate with Dr Davide Malatesta from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and Dr Corinne Caillaud from the University of Sydney on functional aspects and strategies to preserve or restore the locomotion in elderly. With Dr Laurent Maimoun from the Hormonology Department in Montpellier (France), we have also developed some collaborative works on the impact of the aging process on bone metabolism.

Tom: Is balancing all these activities challenging? How do you deal with it and what tools do you find useful in doing so?

Dr Simar: As you say, the challenge is to find the good balance. Very often you find yourself spending a lot of time on a particular aspects while having to give up a bit on others. I think that prioritising is the key and trying to plan ahead is very important in that sense. I should add to that that working with dynamic and supportive colleagues is also a very important component of the equation.

Tom: When did you decide to be primarily involved in the field that you are now in?

Dr Simar: I think “the story” started during my PhD, when I first got exposed to that field of research and I still find it fascinating and stimulating.

Tom: What resources do you find indispensible for your research work?

Dr Simar: The development of Internet access has been really important in the transmission and exchange of information. So I think that access to scientific literature and even to more general information is highly important.

Tom: What do you think about the development of open access publishing and open access development? How has it changed your perspective on research or development practices?

Dr Simar: I think it represents an important improvement in terms of the diffusion of scientific literature and information. It allows not only younger researchers but also patients to keep up to date with the most current research. It also speed up the process of publication, which is highly important when you are dealing with critical results for your field.

Tom: What books do you think should be required reading for researchers working in your area?

Dr Simar: It would be hard to point a particular one or even a couple. Nowadays, I think it is hard to keep books up to date in terms of new findings and information. I am a bit clueless in terms of how we could reverse this but probably electronic format like eBooks could represent a solution. In that sense open access publishing represents a particularly attractive alternative.

Tom: What books are current on your reading list?

Dr Simar: "The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey" by Spencer Wells. (Amazon.com) Through a transversal approach, the author retrace the earliest migrations out of Africa and the colonization of our world.
Tom: Do you teach any courses? If so, which ones?

Dr Simar: I am mainly involved in teaching Clinical Exercise Physiology to undergraduate students. This covers the pathophysiology of the main chronic conditions affecting the cardiorespiratory and the immune or endocrine systems, including the aging process itself, as well as the prevention and or treatment of these conditions using medical procedures, medications and exercise.

Tom: Which historical research figures do you think have most influenced you in how you think about research? Why are they significant?

Dr Simar: I have always been amazed by Leonardo Da Vinci’s work. On scientific point of view he must be one of the most creative researchers who has ever lived. More recently, Professor Harman for developing the “Free Radical Theory of Aging” in the fifties and updating it in the seventies as the “Mitochondrial Theory of Aging”.

Tom: Which meetings do you attend on a regular basis?

Dr Simar: I attend to the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics conference, the French Society of Physiology conference and the Endocrine Society conference.

Tom: If you could change something about how research in your area is conducted, used, perceived, or resourced, what would it be?

Dr Simar: I think we have reached a point where a quick and efficient diffusion of scientific information is becoming more and more critical, especially to the general population (patients, general practitioners, specialists not involved in research…) But I think it is important to achieve this without altering the reviewing process to preserve the quality of what is being published.

My thanks to Dr Simar.