We are excited to announce that Alexander Hill has successfully defended his MSc. thesis titled “Probing the activity of the inhibitor of growth 1a (ING1a) gene promoter under conditions of cellular stress”. Alexander conferred his degree during the Spring 2024 convocation after submitting the minor revisions requested by his defense committee. Alexander had been a student in the lab since September 2021. His project, which primarily focused on a protein called ING1a, aimed to further characterize its relationship to the process of cellular aging (also known as “senescence”). To this end, he analyzed the isoform-specific promoter and linked its activity to a diverse panel of transcription factors, many of which showed altered level of expression in senescent cells. In addition, Alexander found that the promoter of ITSN2, an important player in the mechanism of ING1a-induced senescence, was strongly activated by numerous cellular stresses, potentially providing an additional link between stress-induced senescence and ING1a. There is a well-characterized relationship between cellular senescence and cancer. Even though senescence typically involves the irreversible arrest of the cell cycle, senescent cells have the potential to promote tumorigenesis through a unique secretion profile known as the “senescence-associated secretory phenotype” (SASP). Further understanding the mechanisms involved in senescence have the potential to uncover novel treatment options for cancers and age-related pathologies.