Time on Our Side: Is Living to 100 Within Our Grasp?

Can we all live and be healthy to 100? Researchers continue to explore how we can slow aging processes, prevent or delay common diseases of aging, and extend lifespan as well as healthspan. The ticking clock of aging turns our attention to the science of aging as we look to the future for how to live healthier longer.

Will the 21st century be the new age of centenarians -- more common than extraordinary? Is it lifestyle, environment, genes, or just a good glass of wine that will keep us kicking past 99 or the interplay of several of those things? Can long life and good health be extended in people whose traditional way of living (smoking, high-fat diets) would suggest otherwise? Perhaps the answers may one day be found in a pill.

On March 19, 2009, the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) held a luncheon on the topic, featuring:

David Sinclair, PhD, professor of pathology and director of the Paul F. Glenn Laboratories for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging at Harvard Medical School, and a 2000 AFAR Research Grant recipient;

Dellara Terry, MD, MPH, assistant director of the New England Centenarian Study and associate professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, and a recipient of AFAR's Beeson Career Development Award; and

Christoph Westphal, MD, PhD, chief executive officer of Sirtris (of which Dr. Sinclair is a co-founder), a GSK company.

The investigators addressed questions and concerns about aging with the potential answers found in developing research.

Listen to David Sinclair and Dellara Terry discuss their research.

As part of AFAR’s health luncheon series, we explore various topics related to the biology of aging, featuring scientists from some of the nation’s leading academic institutions.

For more information about the work of AFAR-supported scientists and research on aging, visit www.afar.org and www.infoaging.org.

For more information about this and other events, please contact us at 212-703-9977 or info@afar.org.