What is Geroscience?

Geroscience is the interdisciplinary field that studies the biological mechanisms of aging to understand how they drive the onset and progression of chronic diseases and age-related conditions.

By targeting these shared biological pathways through promising therapeutics, geroscience aims to prevent or delay multiple age-related conditions at once, transforming aging from a primary risk factor into an opportunity to extend healthspan.

Grounded in rigorous science on the basic biology of aging that AFAR has helped advance for more than four decades, geroscience is built on the insight that aging does not have to lead to inevitable decline.

Many of the biological processes of aging are flexible and responsive to intervention. Researchers, clinicians and biotech innovators are developing interventions and strategies to help extend the number of years we live in good health.

By shifting focus from treating diseases one at a time to addressing aging itself at its biological roots, geroscience has the potential to reshape how we age, reduce healthcare burdens, and improve lives around the world.

WATCH

“The Geroscience Promise: How we age and what we can do about it"

Presentation by AFAR Board Member Richard G. A. Faragher, PhD, at the Master Investor event during UK Longevity Week in November 2021.

Economic Impact

By extending years of health as we grow older, geroscience can save trillions in healthcare costs.

Funding geroscience research is funding disease-specific research: a two-for-one approach.

Individuals living healthier for longer can contribute to the society longer.

Policy Considerations

The traditional approach to biomedical research is to study and treat diseases separately. Geroscience transforms the “one disease at a time model."

Research on aging biology is not as robustly developed as research on specific diseases.

AFAR's Amplifying Geroscience Initiative aims to educate federal stakeholders on the far-reaching benefits of funding geroscience.

Special thanks to Felipe Sierra, PhD (1993 AFAR Research Grant recipient and Former Director of the NIA’s Division of Aging Biology) for these insights on Geroscience.