On August 21, 2017, the UK-based national publication, The Sunday Times, produced a podcast and published the first of a two-part series of articles on innovations in aging research. The podcast, Danny in the Valley, focuses on Inside Silicon Valley’s quest to defeat ageing and features several AFAR experts sharing insights on the momentum in biotechnology and drug interventions that build off knowledge on the basic biology of aging.
Early in the podcast, AFAR Executive Director Stephanie Lederman, EdM reflects on the early days of the field, and the revolutionary potential of the AFAR-managed TAME Trial. She shares: “I am very excited about metformin because I believe that will pave the way to new drugs and better drugs and better metformin-type drugs because we’ll understand whether or not it really does delay or modify the conditions of aging. There is something in this study that I believe we’re going to learn a lot about, which is why we at AFAR are trying to raise money for it… I believe this study is going to change the world.”
The episode also highlights the work of 1999 Paul Beeson Career Development Scholar, 2008 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award winner, and Board Member Thomas Rando, MD, PhD on heterochronic parabiosis, and Dr. Rando shares insights on healthspan and altering the natural history of life in developed societies.
Later, the Dog Aging Project, led by 2006 AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty and 2007 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award recipient Matt Kaeberlein, PhD and 1996 AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty and 2010 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award recipient Daniel Promislow, PhD is highlighted.
AFAR’s 2017 Honorary Leadership Award recipient Nathaniel David, PhD also shares insights on how his company, Unity Biotechnology, is focusing on eliminating senescent cells to cure age-related diseases like Osteoarthritis. Unity’s work with senolytics is being led by 1990 AFAR Research Grant recipient Judith Campisi, PhD.
The full Sunday Times podcast episode can be found here.
Accompanying the Podcast is a two-part series of articles. The first article, accessible with a free registration, can be found here.
Nathaniel David, PhD is President and co-founder of Unity Biotechnology.
Matt Kaeberlein, PhD is a Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Director of University of Washington Medicine Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging.
Stephanie Lederman, EdM is the Executive Director at AFAR.
Daniel E.L. Promislow, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Pathology and the Department of Biology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Thomas Rando, MD, PhD is the Principal Investigator of the Thomas Rando Lab at Stanford University, where he is also the Director of the Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Deputy Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, and a Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences.
For more information on TAME, please see our TAME FAQ page here.
To learn more about the Dog Aging Project, we encourage you to explore our summary of a related feature story in The New York Times here.
