Google’s Calico renews its support for the Longevity World Forum, Spain’s most important congress on ageing

Calico (the California Life Company) has confirmed that in 2019 it will once again sponsor the Longevity World Forum, the first international congress in Europe to address life expectancy and healthy ageing from a professional and scientific perspective. Google’s biotechnology company, which specialises in longevity research, is thus endorsing the meeting for the second year running.

 

Calico was founded by Google in 2013 with the aim of extending human life through technology. The company studies the mechanisms behind and the causes of degenerative processes, in order to develop tools to treat the different age-related diseases. To this end, it has a multidisciplinary scientific team that covers such specialist fields as medicine, genetics and molecular biology.

 

The positive synergy that exists between its work philosophy and the Longevity World Forum’s educational vocation of the Longevity World Forum not only prompted Calico to join the project in the first edition in 2018, but also to renew its sponsorship agreement this year. In this way, the congress is on the list of collaborations that the Google company has signed with prestigious entities in the industry, such as AbbVie, and universities around the world.

 

The second edition of the Longevity World Forum will be held on 14 and 15 November at the Palacio de Congresos in Valencia, a city that is rapidly establishing itself as a scientific capital. On this occasion, the focus will be on scientific innovation applied to healthy ageing, the latest research currently being carried out in the field of longevity, and, in a society with ever-increasing life expectancy, the socio-economic effects entailed by such an increase.

 

First-rate professionals will once again be on hand to address these issues. For example, Rafael de Cabo, head of the Translational Gerontology Division at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, United States; Reason, the co-founder of Repair Biotechnologies, Inc. (United States); Manuel Serrano, a doctor and professor currently working on the ICREA programme at the Barcelona Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona); Bruno Vellas, a doctor in the Aging Unit at the Gerontopole University Hospital in Toulouse (France); and Álvaro Pascual-Leone, a professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School (United States), among others.

Pedro Almaida: “As the circadian system ages, an organism’s ability to adjust its biological rhythms to environmental cycles is compromised”

Dr. Pedro Almaida has been researching the circadian system for years. His participation in the 2019 Longevity World Forum will give him the opportunity to explain its importance in terms of healthy ageing and to report on the latest discoveries in this field.

Why should we pay attention to the so-called “biological clock”?

Biological rhythms are essential for maintaining optimal health. Throughout human evolution, we hominids have been exposed to regular cycles of light and darkness during each 24-hour period. This process, which evolved over the course of millions of years, led species to adjust their physiology and to synchronise it with the cyclic environment of their habitat. Vertebrates, including hominids, developed groups of neurons that made it possible to monitor the environmental photoperiod. These are located in the hypothalamus, in what is known as suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). SCN, which form what we call our biological clock or central pacemaker, are an oscillator in their own right, orchestrating most of the known circadian rhythms in vertebrates.

In order to enjoy healthy aging, how should we care for the circadian system from a young age?

The main strategy to prevent imbalances in the biological clock is to reinforce the circadian signals and increase day/night contrast. Bright blue light is the main synchroniser of the circadian system; when applied at the right time, it is able to produce an increase in the amplitude and stability of biological rhythms. But as well as light, we also need darkness to synchronise our rhythms. The absence of darkness leads to the disruption of our biological rhythms. As well as improving physical health, regular exercise, taken at the right time, can also synchronise the biological clock. The timing of when we take our meals is especially important as a synchroniser of most peripheral clocks. Being active socially can also help keep our biological clock running smoothly. And if these guidelines are not enough, we can always take melatonin, which has similar effects to darkness.

What are the main ailments associated with our biological rhythms?

One of the main characteristics of developed societies is their 24/7 lifestyle. Members of these societies are exposed to contradictory synchronising signals, which lead to the emergence of chronodisruption (CD). CD is a relatively new concept that serves to provide a name for the imbalance that exists between an organism’s internal time and the actual environmental time; and also for the loss of internal temporal order, which leads to the dysfunction of the circadian organisation of the physiology, endocrinology, metabolism and behaviour of an organism.

In October 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified “shift work involving disruption of circadian rhythms” as potentially carcinogenic in humans. In addition, the most prestigious scientific journals, Nature, Science and Current Biology, have recently echoed the health risks produced by inadequate exposure to light, which has also been associated with a greater likelihood of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, cognitive deterioration, affective disorders, sleep disturbances and cancer.

What treatments are used to combat circadian system problems in old age?

Just like any other structure of the organism, the circadian system grows old too. And, with ageing, the biological clock is characterised by a deterioration at every level of its organisation: information entry routes, central pacemakers, and exit routes (the biological rhythms). Thus, with ageing, the circadian system receives less temporal information, the central pacemaker (the suprachiasmatic nuclei) is generally out of sync and, as far as the circadian rhythms are concerned, there is an advance in their phase, fragmentation and a decrease in amplitude.

Therefore, as the circadian system ages, the body’s ability to adjust its biological rhythms to environmental cycles is compromised and chronodisruption may occur. Fortunately, as we have just seen, there are a number of strategies that people can follow to help our biological clock work better: increase day/night contrast (exposure to bright days and dark nights), take melatonin (if necessary), get regular exercise, and improve sleep and meal times and your social life.

What are you currently working on in the Chronobiology Group at the University of Murcia?

I am working on the LUMEN project (Light, Melatonin and Aging), funded by a research grant from the ONCE Foundation and from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Its main objectives are, on the one hand, to measure the impact of different light/dark schedules on how the circadian system works, by analysing activity/rest rhythms, melatonin production, the sleep pattern and the expression of clock genes in animal models. On the other hand, we are looking for associations between chronodisruption and age-associated diseases by analysing the oxidative status, the lipid composition of cell membranes (especially mitochondria) and the damage caused to mitochondrial DNA throughout the life cycle of animal models.

The LUMEN project is part of a larger project: “Circadian Healthy Ageing”, which is part of the Carlos III Health Institute’s  CIBERFES, the Fragility and Healthy Aging division of the Biomedical Research Network Center.

Why did you decide to participate in the Longevity World Forum and what do you think a congress like this brings to the scientific community and society?

It is an honour for me to be able to attend this prestigious forum dedicated to longevity and quality of life, and to present the work that our research group has been carrying out. These congresses are vital to scientific advancement. They bring together expert researchers from different areas of knowledge, whose efforts are focused on the study of ageing. This is especially important in an area such as aging, which requires interdisciplinary approaches. These meetings encourage the establishment of networks and new lines of action to advance scientific knowledge and improve the quality of life of the population.

Carlos F. Sánchez Ferrer: “Drugs that are able to inhibit the actions of adipokines can have a beneficial effect on arteries and can even reverse vascular aging”

The first session of #Longevity19 will approach longevity from different perspectives. For example, Professor Carlos F. Sánchez Ferrer will explain the new pharmacological targets as far as vascular ageing is concerned. His training and experience endorse his voice as a reference in this sector which is currently celebrating its world congress.

In your opinion, what has been the most important step forward during the course of the last year, in terms of life expectancy and quality of life?  

I’m not sure there’s been any one particular step forward that is more important than all the others. I believe that there is a progressive accumulation of information and that this increase in quantity will eventually lead to qualitative progress.

What mechanisms of human cardiovascular aging can be treated, slowed, or reversed?

Back in the 18th century, an English doctor called Thomas Sydenham stated that “A man is as old as his arteries are”, which also applies to women, of course. This aging can be slowed and even reversed by implementing healthy lifestyles, including the Mediterranean diet and physical exercise.

From a pharmacological point of view, we also know that some of the medicines we use to treat diseases such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol have positive effects and delay cardiovascular ageing. Statins, which reduce LDL (the so-called “bad”) cholesterol levels, have beneficial effects on the arteries not only because of this mechanism, but also because of other effects which we call “pleiotropic” and which are still under study.  We also know that drugs that inhibit the renin-angiotensin system and which are widely used in the treatment of arterial hypertension, also reduce several pathological processes associated with vascular aging.

On the other hand, certain metabolic diseases can sometimes have catastrophic consequences for the cardiovascular system, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus which is characteristic of people of a certain age and is frequently associated with obesity. They are in fact considered to be progesterone-related  diseases, i.e. diseases that favour ageing. Nowadays, in order to treat these so-called cardiometabolic diseases, it is considered crucial that we come up with drugs that not only improve the metabolic aspects, but above all the cardiovascular consequences.

What research is being carried out on this subject in the pharmacological field?

In obesity and diabetes mellitus, the hypertrophied adipose tissue is capable of producing and releasing different substances, which are called adipocytokines or adipokines, and which are now used as disease markers, i.e. their presence is considered diagnostic or prognostic. We believe that these substances, per se, can have harmful effects on the arteries and are therefore mediators that lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. If this hypothesis is confirmed, adipokines would become therapeutic targets, i.e. targets for new drugs that antagonise these harmful effects.

What are the real applications (already being used on patients) of your work so far?

The applications used on patients do not usually come from the work of a single group, rather from many years of work by many different groups. Our group’s work is primarily focused on analysing the mechanisms that cause vascular damage in three adipokines (there are many more), which are two enzymes (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and visfatin), and a pro-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin-1). In this sense, there are drugs on the market that are capable of inhibiting dipeptidyl peptidase-4 IV and are used to treat diabetes mellitus and whose effect on vascular disease is under study. There are also recombinant molecules and monoclonal antibodies that antagonise interleukin-1. Recent clinical trials suggest that the latter may be useful in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Can we talk about some remarkable developments we can look forward to in the near future?

We believe that drugs that are able to inhibit the effects of adipokines can have a beneficial effect on the arteries, delaying or even reversing vascular aging. We have experimental data pointing in that direction and we hope that in the coming years these promising data will be confirmed in appropriate clinical trials so that they can be applied in the general population.

Why do you think it is important that the scientific community in particular and society in general should focus its attention on longevity?

One of the most important characteristics of our society is its ageing population. We are living longer and in better conditions and we have more and more information about the aspects that favour longevity, both from a genetic and biological point of view as well as from an environmental and social point of view. In fact, one very important issue, in our opinion, is not only to prolong life, but above all to do so in the best physical, intellectual, psychological and social conditions. All of this requires the participation of different scientific and humanistic disciplines, as well as a global approach on the part of society as a whole.

In your opinion, what does a meeting like the Longevity World Forum mean and why did you decide to participate?

It is an opportunity to get to know different scientific, social, economic and ethical points of view, etc., on such an important subject as human ageing. It is also an opportunity to disseminate our work not only to the specialist scientific community, but to society at large.

Manuel Collado: “Our goal must be to reach an advanced age in a better state of health and to remain free of disease as long as possible”

Dr. Manuel Collado will be one of the speakers in the first session of #Longevity19, which will focus on will be one of the speakers in the first session of #Longevity19, which will focus on exploring longevity by presenting different research, from basic to applied, that is currently being carried out in this field. In this brief interview, he offers an insight to his perspective and to his work.

Why do you think it is important that the scientific community in particular and society in general should focus its attention on longevity?

Today’s society is characterised by the enormous increase in longevity experienced in recent decades. This increased longevity implies a radical change in the structure and composition of our society with major consequences, mainly in health. Aging is the main debilitating factor of our health and the ultimate cause of an enormous amount of diseases that lead to increased dependency and mortality. Addressing the basic mechanisms that contribute to ageing could provide us with new forms of prevention and treatment of the common bases of a large number of pathologies.

In your opinion, what does a meeting like the Longevity World Forum mean and why did you decide to participate?

The Longevity World Forum provides an exceptional opportunity to meet leading experts in the field of longevity and in the study of the fundamental aspects of ageing, a unique opportunity to learn at first hand the latest trends in this field, which are experiencing an enormous advance that could represent a radical change in the way we understand and approach this area of knowledge.

What should we understand by cellular senescence and what impact does it have on aging?

Cellular senescence is a process that is unleashed in the cells of the organism in response to damage experienced over time. As such, it plays a positive role in defending us from these aggressions; but as time goes by, these damaged cells accumulate in our tissues, damaging their normal function and even inducing changes that deteriorate their activity. Today we have sufficient evidence to affirm that this accumulation of senescent cells makes a significant contribution to a large number of so-called age-related diseases, and it has even been shown that eliminating them specifically improves the state of health at an advanced age in experimental animal models.

How do you think our life expectancy and our quality of life will evolve in the next decade?

Life expectancy has increased at a steady and sustained rate for more than a century now. There are discrepancies with regard to the possibility of exceeding a maximum age for the human population, and there are even those who dispute whether we can continue to increase average life expectancy even further. However, data shows us that our life expectancy is continuing to increase and that this greater longevity is always accompanied by a period of healthy living. “Our goal must be to reach an advanced age in a better state of health and to remain free of disease as long as possible.” But all this will only be possible with increased investment in both research and health.

What are you currently working on at CHUS and IDIS?

One of the main objectives of our IDIS laboratory is the study of cell senescence. We are interested in gaining a better understanding of this process: what its physiological functions are, how it contributes to pathologies, how we can alter them by increasing or eliminating senescent cells.

In your opinion, what has been the most important advance in the field of longevity since last year?

All the contributions of the various groups that have demonstrated beyond doubt how senescent cells contribute to very different pathologies associated with ageing and how it is possible to intervene therapeutically in them by selectively eliminating these cells.

Marc Ramis: “For the first time ever, we are treating age-associated diseases from mechanisms associated with senescence”

Dr. Marc Ramis defines himself as a passionate entrepreneur in the field of the so-called life sciences. For example, in the summer of 2017 and together with Dr. Manuel Serrano and other researchers, he embarked upon the creation of Senalytic Therapeutics, a company that develops innovative senolithic drugs, which are drugs based on cellular senescence. “We are facing many challenges because this is a new field. A great deal of uncertainty exists from the point of view of development, but given that we are living in an increasingly aging society, this is an area with a lot of future and a high impact. “For the first time ever, we are treating age-associated diseases from mechanisms associated with senescence”, he tells us.

Ramis explains that, for the time being, one can speak of brilliant academic and preclinical work. However, he qualifies this by saying that “right now we are experiencing a key moment in this sense”, given that all the knowledge surrounding the concept of cellular senescence is beginning to be transferred to the market. Moreover: Senalytic Therapeutics has plans to carry out the first systemic test on humans in 2020. Continuing with his words: “We will transfer the preclinical development data from this science to the clinical trial next year”.

All in all, cellular senescence has been gaining special prominence for some time now, as organisations such as Senalytic Therapeutics are demonstrating its direct relationship with different pathologies and aging. For example, their elimination or the reduction in their number is being related to the increase in life expectancy and the quality of life in patients with pulmonary fibrosis.

Dr. Marc Ramis will present the latest developments in this regard in the second edition of the Longevity World Forum. In particular, he will participate in the second session dedicated to R+D+i in longevity. “The differential value of this international congress is its social impact, because it serves as a forum for transmitting the concept of ageing to society,” he concludes.

Longevity World Forum

Longevity World Forum focuses its second edition on scientific innovation and healthy aging

The organisers of the Longevity World Forum, a pioneering congress at world level, have confirmed the thematic blocks for the contents of its second edition, which will take place on 14th and 15th November at the Palacio de Congresos (Conference Centre) of Valencia. Specifically, scientific innovation related to increased longevity and quality of life, as well as healthy aging, will be two of the main themes for the meeting in 2019.

Furthermore, the latest research currently underway in the field of longevity and the social and economic effects inherent to a society with an increasing life expectancy will be the other two subjects tackled during the two days, when internationally renowned professionals from the sectors involved in this matter will meet again.

The speakers will include, for example, Rafael de Cabo, chief of the Translational Gerontology Branch of the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore; Manuel Serrano, a doctor and professor who is currently working on the ICREA programme of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine of Barcelona (IRB Barcelona); and Álvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of Neurology at the Harvard Medical School, among others.

The Longevity World Forum has become established as the meeting point for the international scientific community, as well as for agents from academia and industry from different countries, whose work is closely related to increased life expectancy and healthy aging. The congress is supported by the Royal Academy of Medicine together with other public and private institutions of the bio-health and biotechnological sectors.

Longevity World Forum confirms Valencia as its venue in 2019

After the success of its first edition at the end of 2018, it was announced during the closing ceremony of the first Longevity World Forum that a second edition would be held. The organisers of this international congress, a pioneering event in Europe on human longevity, have now confirmed this, specifying that it will take place on 14th and 15th November 2019 at the Palacio de Congresos (Conference Centre) of Valencia, a city that will thus be consolidated as a scientific capital on a global scale.

This decision is the result of the good context currently offered by Valencia, where the academic and scientific ambience, accompanied by innovation and research, present a notable development. Added to this is a growing biotechnology and biomedicine cluster comprising numerous companies and organisations with national and international projection. With all this in mind, the organisers of the Longevity World Forum have once again opted for the city on the river Turia ahead of bids from other European cities to host the event.

Therefore, for the second year running, Valencia will serve as a meeting point for the world scientific community and representatives from academia and industry from different countries, whose work is intimately related to increasing life expectancy and healthy aging. Thus, human longevity will once again be examined from different perspectives, generating multidisciplinary knowledge and showing the latest advances in this field. In short, the organisers of the Longevity World Forum aspire to improve on the good results of its first edition, which boasted over 400 attendees and a programme that included more than 20 first-class speakers. For example, this was the case of Aubrey de Grey, the famous biogerontologist and founder of the American organisation SENS Research Foundation; Ángela Nieto, director of the Developmental Neurobiology Unit of the Neuroscience Institute of Alicante UMH-CSIC; María Blasco, director of the prestigious National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO); José Viña and Federico Pallardó, professors of physiology at the Universitat de València; Lissette Otero, chief medical officer and laboratory director of Life Length; Maria Chatzou, CEO of Lifebit; Manuel Pérez Alonso, professor of genetics at the UV; and Manuel Corpas, founder and CEO of Cambridge Precision Medicine; among other relevant voices.

Valencia: Longevity World Forum. Daniel Duart/Talentum.

The scientific community shared a “tsunami of knowledge” on healthy ageing at the Longevity World Forum

“We are an increasingly ageing society and this is a challenge.” That is how Manuel Pérez Alonso, Professor of Genetics at the University of Valencia, started his closing speech at the Longevity World Forum, the first conference in Europe focused on life expectancy and life improvement. We know for a fact that human longevity is gradually increasing and this results in serious consequences in many areas. That is why a world forum for reflection is needed.

The Longevity World Forum responds to this need. Its first edition has been held in the Valencia Conference Centre and it has brought together over 400 participants, who have had the opportunity to learn more about longevity from the perspective of world leaders of the scientific community in fields such as genomics, nutrition, precision medicine and biotechnology. They have shared their knowledge, informed about the latest achievements and analysed new challenges.

“Ageing cannot be treated directly. However, the illnesses that result from this natural process can be treated”, explained María Blasco, Head of the prestigious Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), who was one of the speakers in the conference together with other professionals such as Ángela Nieto, head of the Developmental Neurobiology Unit of the UMH-CSIC Neuroscience Institute located in Alicante, who has just received the ASEICA Cancer Research Award 2018; or the renowned Aubrey de Grey, founder of SENS Research Foundation, who was the last speaker and argued that combating ageing as a medical condition will be possible in the near future.

In total, over 20 people were part of a first-rate panel of speakers that combined perspectives from the scientific, academic and professional communities in order to “discover the mechanisms that affect ageing, develop strategies to slow it down and treat age-related illnesses better”, as Manuel Pérez Alonso said in his closing speech. It was also stated that “the future brings an integrative multidisciplinary medicine” based on genomic information and applying artificial intelligence, as well as the fact that a “recipe for a healthy later life” would involve “a responsible diet, physical exercise adapted to each person’s situation and keeping alive social relationships”.

The organizers of Longevity World Forum have expressed their satisfaction since the event was well-received and they achieved the goal of “conveying a tsunami of knowledge” for the benefit of the whole society. Due to its success, the second edition of this event has been confirmed. It will take place in November 2019 and it is expected to become an annual international event.

Aubrey de Grey Longevity

The debate over precision medicine and biotechnology puts the final touch on the first edition of the Longevity World Forum

On the second and final day of the Longevity World Forum, the conference turned its focus towards two disciplines which are fundamental to guarantee a longer and better life expectancy: precision medicine and biotechnology. Each one of these was the focus of a session which, once again, heard from leading voices not only from within the scientific community but also from industry thus providing a more holistic vision of human longevity.

In particular, Manuel Corpas, CEO and founder of Cambridge Precision Medicine, started the day by demonstrating how complete genomic sequencing is a key tool for clinical practice that aims at prolonging human life and health. The testimonial of Jorge Cortell, CEO of Kanteron Systems, added to this as he explained how his start-up integrates data from the image into the medical workflow to make it more accurate and personalised.

Ana Sabater, Associate Director of Eugenomic, continued in this line, emphasising pharmogenetics and its value to making prescribing safer, which translates into a more efficient medical industry. In addition, Arancha Galán, Deputy Director of the IVI in vitro fertilization laboratory, dismantled the widespread idea of eternal youth and cautioned that the need to consider mechanisms to preserve fertility is ever more important now that life expectancy is longer.

All of them together with Pablo Marín, Director of Bioinformatics of Kanteron Systems; Juan Sabater, Head of Eugenomic; Elisa Tarazona, Operations Manager of Ribera Salud; and Gonçal Lloveras, Managing Director of Clínica Diagonal in Barcelona, also participated in different round tables which covered, on the one hand, the potential for Big Data in health management and, on the other hand, the role of clinics, laboratories and hospitals under the new medical paradigm.

The fourth session, which took place throughout the day, benefited from the contributions of Tom Stubbs and Attila Csordas, founder and CEO of Chronomics and Age Curve Limited, respectively. They showed how their startups offer services which already allow information gathering from genetics or biomarkers with the aim of developing a preventive medical system.

In between these two, it was the eagerly-awaited Aubrey de Grey’s turn. The renowned biogerontologist founder of SENS Research Foundation argued that ageing will be treated like a mere health problem in the near future. That is to say, ageing is not like an infection that can be eradicated from the human body but it will be like other illnesses that result from the “accumulation of harm” on the human body.

Lissette Otero, CMO and Laboratory Director of LifeLength, intervened last giving a breakdown of the different variables associated with telomeres, age and cancer. Lastly, Ángel Alberich, founder and CEO of Quibim, illustrated the current medical applications that artificial intelligence already has and the advantages it offers in terms of guaranteeing healthy longevity.

Manuel Pérez Alonso, Professor of Genetics at the University of Valencia and member of the conference scientific and organizing committees, summed up the key conclusions in the closing speech of the Longevity World Forum and confirmed that a second annual conference will take place next year since the first edition has been very well-received.

The scientific community proposes a different approach to ageing at the Longevity World Forum

It may seem paradoxical but embryonic development is not dissimilar to ageing, acknowledged Ángela Nieto at the Longevity World Forum. The head of the Developmental Neurobiology Unit of the UMH-CSIC Neuroscience Institute located in Alicante, who has just received the ASEICA for Best Investigative Career, was one of the speakers in the conference’s first day. There she explained the existence of “promising therapeutic targets” for organ degeneration which would mean longer and better life expectancy.

In addition, María Blasco, Head of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre and also a speaker in this conference, emphasised the study of telomeres and telomerase due to their proven direct effect on the development of particular pathologies associated to ageing. “Ageing cannot be treated directly. However, the illnesses that result from this natural process can be treated”, she explained.

José Viña y Federico Pallardó, both Professors of Physiology at the University of Valencia (UV), were also some of the key speakers in the first day of the Longevity World Forum. In particular, Federico Pallardó argued that ageing is a physiological progress which can be delayed thanks to epigenetic mechanisms. Meanwhile, Manuel Viña defended the idea that nutrition and physical exercise can be considered “new medications” with their influence on age-related frailty being a key piece of evidence in this argument.

The presentations of Mercedes Aguirre, head of laboratories Nua Biological Innovations, and Mari Carmen Gómez, who is part of the Physiology Department of the University of Valencia, followed in this vein, using examples such as Alzheimer’s disease to prove the importance of diet and physical activity in achieving healthy ageing.

Therefore, the Longevity World Forum is achieving the target set upon its creation; serve as a world forum to exchange knowledge on increased life expectancy and life quality improvement from a purely scientific perspective. Tomorrow the conference’s second and final day will be seen out with the highlight being the intervention of Aubrey de Grey, the renowned biogerontologist founder of SENS Research Foundation. Alongside other professionals, he will further develop speciality subjects like precision medicine and biotechnology.