Corina Amor Vegas

Corina Amor Vegas is an Assistant Professor and Cancer Center Program Co-Leader at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), where she leads the Amor Laboratory focused on cellular senescence research. She was promoted to Assistant Professor in January 2024 after serving as a CSHL Fellow from 2022 to 2024.

Dr. Amor Vegas earned her M.D. with Honors from Complutense University of Madrid, Spain (2011-2017) and her Ph.D. from Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2021.

Her groundbreaking research focuses on cellular senescence - a stress response program triggered in damaged cells that should be eliminated by the immune system. When senescent cells accumulate, they create a chronic pro-inflammatory environment leading to aging and tumor development. Dr. Amor Vegas investigates how the immune system recognizes these cells in healthy conditions and how senescent cells evade immune clearance in disease. Her lab pioneers the development of CAR T cell therapies that can target and eliminate senescent cells, with revolutionary findings showing these 'senolytic CAR T cells' can reverse aging-associated defects and metabolic dysfunction. Her January 2024 Nature Aging paper demonstrated that these therapies can cause young mice to age more slowly and rejuvenate older mice, with improvements in body weight, metabolism, glucose tolerance, and physical activity - all without tissue damage or toxicity.

Analysis of Dr. Amor Vegas' recent publications reveals a strong interdisciplinary focus at the intersection of aging, cancer, and immunology. Her work spans cellular senescence mechanisms, immune system interactions with aging cells, and therapeutic applications of CAR T cell technology. Key trends include developing somatic mouse models to study these processes, translating basic research into potential therapies for age-related diseases, and exploring the metabolic regulation of senolytic pathways. Her research has important implications for developing one-time treatments for chronic age-related conditions.

• NIH Director's Early Independence Award (2022)
• Freeman Hrabowski Scholar (2025)
• Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe (2022)
• Chairman's Prize Award (2020)
• Multiple Academic Excellence Scholarships

Dr. Amor Vegas' research is supported by several prestigious funding sources including the Lustgarten Foundation, Thompson Foundation, Pershing Square Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Simons Foundation. Her lab has made significant contributions to understanding how senescent cells evade immune clearance and how CAR T cell therapy can be adapted to target these cells. Her groundbreaking 2020 Nature paper 'Senolytic CAR T cells reverse senescence-associated pathologies' has garnered over 800 citations, demonstrating the significant impact of her work. Her research represents a paradigm shift in how we approach aging and age-related diseases, suggesting that immune-based therapies could potentially target the fundamental processes of aging itself rather than just individual age-related conditions.

The Amor Laboratory at CSHL brings together expertise in immunology, aging research, and cancer biology. The lab develops and combines novel somatic mouse models of cancer with cell-based therapeutics, particularly their innovative senolytic CAR T cells. Their current research directions include understanding the metabolic effects of senolytic CAR T cells, investigating their pro-regenerative effects in aged tissues, and exploring their potential applications for a range of age-related pathologies including obesity, diabetes, and fibrosis. Dr. Amor Vegas has received significant media attention for her work, with features in Wired, BBC Science Focus, and other major outlets.