Translating Aging
BioAge Labs
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On Translating Aging, we talk with the worldwide community of researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors who are moving longevity science from the lab to the clinic. We bring you a commanding view of the entire field, in the words of the people and companies who are moving it forward today. The podcast is sponsored by BioAge labs, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies to extend human healthspan by targeting the molecular causes of aging.
Available episodes
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Aug 23, 2023
Reversing Skin Aging at the Cellular Level (Carolina Reis Oliveira and Alessandra Zonari, OneSkin)
Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira and Dr. Alessandra Zonari are the co-founders of OneSkin, a company developing science-backed skincare products to reverse skin aging at the cellular level. In this episode, Carolina and Alessandra tell host Dr. Chris Patil how OneSkin is leveraging recent advances in longevity science to create novel peptides that target senescent cells and inflammation in aged skin. Their lead ingredient, OS-1, is a peptide capable of reducing biological age and senescence burden in human skin models.They explain their rigorous discovery process, including screening peptide libraries in cellular models of skin aging, which were described in a recent paper in Nature Aging. Next, they share how they translated this scientific research into an effective, consumer-friendly skincare product line and brand. Listeners will gain insights into OneSkin's unique approach bridging cosmetics and cutting-edge geroscience.
Key topics:
* Why skin health and appearance are important markers of overall aging
* The cellular and molecular changes underlying skin aging
* How most skincare products focus on temporary effects vs. targeting root causes
* Screening peptide libraries in cellular models to discover senolytic/senomorphic candidates
* Discovery and testing of lead peptide OS-1 in 3D skin models and human trials
* Validating safety and efficacy to meet cosmetics regulatory requirements
* Launching a science-backed skincare brand and resonating with educated consumers
* Ongoing R&D to expand into new anti-aging applications and delivery methods
Quotes:
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.
"Obviously, we look at our skin from the lens of aesthetics or of beauty. But our skin is our largest organ, and its main function is to protect our whole body against pathogens and different types of environmental stressors. As the skin ages and deteriorates, the function also gets compromised."
“That's one of the things that we're interested in and exploring at OneSkin: not only how to improve your appearance, but also how to improve your skin function so it can aid in your overall health.”
"We realized none of the products out there were developed with the rationale of targeting aging itself."
"When we treat dermal fibroblasts with this peptide, we could decrease the amount of senescent cells by 40–50%."
"More and more, the population is getting educated. They don't want just marketing claims, they want to understand and trust brands that can really bring proof."
"People are more open to say, okay, if I need to put something on my skin, I should use a company that's actually doing real science."
"Our primary goal is to continue to be the most innovative company when it comes to skin aging, and to continue to be at the forefront of aging research applied to skin."
Links:
Email questions, comments, and feedback to podcast@bioagelabs.com
Translating Aging on Twitter: @bioagepodcast
BioAge Labs Website bioagelabs.com
BioAge Labs Twitter @bioagelabs
BioAge Labs LinkedIn
OneSkin company page
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Aug 9, 2023
Discovering New Senolytics with Neural Networks (Felix Wong, Integrated Biosciences)
Dr. Felix Wong is a co-founder of Integrated Biosciences, an early-stage biotech company developing next-generation therapeutics for cellular rejuvenation. He is also a postdoc at MIT and the Broad Institute and was a lead author on a recent Nature Aging paper describing the use of graph neural networks to discover new senolytic compounds.
In this episode, Felix and host Chris Patil have an in-depth discussion about using machine learning to accelerate drug discovery, specifically to target cellular senescence. They explore how graph neural networks were trained on screening data to evaluate large chemical spaces and identify new senolytic molecules with medicinal properties superior to those of previously known compounds.
Key topics:
* What cellular senescence is and why selectively eliminating senescent cells may have therapeutic benefits for aging and age-related diseases
* Limitations of traditional high-throughput screening approaches and the vastness of chemical space
* How graph neural networks work and how Felix’s team trained them on senolytic screening data
* Applying the models to search much larger chemical libraries and identify promising new senolytic scaffolds
* Experimental validation and characterization of hits from the AI screening
* The potential to use this machine learning approach more broadly for phenotypic drug discovery
* Felix’s new company Integrated Biosciences and their mission to control cellular stress responses using synthetic biology and AI
Quotes:
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.
"We found that machine learning models might allow us to more productively search chemical space and increase our working hit rates."
"What was fascinating to us about senescence cells is that, unlike other pathologies or diseases, these cells are not really characterized by a single target."
"The quality of any machine learning model is limited by the quality of the training data. And that in turn is limited by how good your screens are, and how good your understanding of the biology is."
“That's really what machine learning is doing, trying to think about things in a very high dimensional manner. And then trying to build models that help to separate what is positive and what is negative.”
“So what ideally we would want is for any model to be able to generalize, to be able to predict chemical scaffolds that the model has not previously seen, and positively identify those scaffolds as new senolytics.”
"Ideally, we would like to treat aging and age-related diseases, just like how antibiotics treat bacterial infections."
“At Integrated, we're trying to kind of look at these stress responses holistically. We think that senescence is only a piece of the bigger puzzle.”
Links:
Email questions, comments, and feedback to podcast@bioagelabs.com
Translating Aging on Twitter: @bioagepodcast
BioAge Labs Website bioagelabs.com
BioAge Labs Twitter @bioagelabs
BioAge Labs LinkedIn
Integrated Biosciences
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Jul 26, 2023
“Taking disease by sTORm”: Developing Rapalogs to Extend Healthy Lifespan (Joan Mannick, Tornado Therapeutics)
Joan Mannick, CEO and co-Founder of Tornado Therapeutics, joins the podcast to discuss her company’s exciting mission of developing a new generation of rapalog compounds specifically targeting the TORC1 complex. Rapalogs are analogs of the natural compound rapamycin, which has been shown to extend lifespan and healthspan in animal models by inhibiting the TOR pathway. However, rapamycin has limitations that have prevented its widespread clinical use for aging-related conditions.
Tornado aims to overcome these limitations by developing a portfolio of novel rapalogs licensed from Novartis, which were specifically designed to be more selective TORC1 inhibitors with improved drug-like properties relative to rapamycin. Early data suggests these compounds may have an improved safety profile and remain effective at treating diseases like cancer.
In her conversation with host Chris Patil, Dr. Mannick provides an accessible overview of TOR signaling biology and shares insights from her extensive experience developing rapalogs. The discussion covers Tornado’s strategic approach to indications like oncology and viral infections, the process of characterizing their licensed compounds, and notable milestones on the horizon.
Dr. Mannick provides an insider perspective on a compelling longevity biotech company striving to translate the promise of rapalogs into effective medicines for age-related diseases.
Key topics:
* An overview of the TOR signaling pathway, the TORC1 and TORC2 complexes, and how the natural compound rapamycin inhibits TOR function.
* The benefits and limitations of using rapamycin/rapalogs clinically, and the need for more selective TORC1 inhibitors with improved drug properties.
* Tornado’s licensing of novel TORC1-specific rapalogs from Novartis, including early safety data.
* Indications that Tornado is initially pursuing, including oncology and viral infection, applying lessons learned about rapalogs over the past decade.
* The experience of being a “pipeline company” within the Cambrian Biopharma family, and the synergies available to companies operating within this model.
* The maturation of the longevity biotech field
* Promising milestones on Tornado’s horizon.
Quotes:
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.
"Rapamycin is a very specific inhibitor of this critical protein mTOR that regulates lifespan and healthspan."
“An ideal rapalog to treat aging-related conditions and extend lifespan is predicted to be a rapalog that specifically inhibits TORC1, but leaves TORC2 alone.”
"The problem with rapamycin is that it has no remaining patent life. And we really have to do the studies to see if the benefit outweighs the risks."
“[Cambrian] enabled me to go very fast in terms of execution - you get a team, which is very rare when you start a startup.”
"Longevity medicine is white space ready to be explored. It's an untapped area that could transform the practice of medicine."
“We are picking indications where there's not just preclinical validation, but a lot of clinical validation.”
“We're going to use these lessons learned to see if with a better clinical development plan, we can now develop our next generation rapalogs to enhance antiviral immunity and decrease severity of viral respiratory tract infections.”
Links:
Email questions, comments, and feedback to podcast@bioagelabs.com
Translating Aging on Twitter: @bioagepodcast
BioAge Labs Website...
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Jul 12, 2023
Discovering Healthspan Interventions through Phenotype-Based Drug Screening (Mitchell Lee, Ora Biomedical)
Mitchell Lee is the CEO and co-founder of Ora Biomedical, a Seattle-based biotech company using large-scale phenotypic drug screening in C. elegans to discover small molecule therapeutics that extend lifespan and healthspan.
In this episode, Chris and Mitch discuss Ora's approach to drug discovery, which focuses on function and phenotype rather than specific targets or mechanisms. Using their proprietary "WormBot" platform, Ora screens thousands of compounds in parallel to identify molecules that impact lifespan, healthspan, and age-related disease phenotypes, allowing them to discover new longevity interventions in an unbiased, hypothesis-agnostic way.
Key topics:
* How Ora Biomedical was founded out of a conversation between Dr. Lee and his mentor Dr. Matt Kaeberlein about spinning out a company based on the WormBot technology
* Why C. elegans is a useful model organism for discovering fundamental mechanisms of aging that can translate to mammals
* How the WormBot platform uses imaging and machine learning to measure worm lifespan, healthspan, behaviors, and response to drugs at a large scale
* Ora's goal of screening 1 million compounds within 3 years to find the most promising longevity interventions
* Strategies for translating hits from the worm screen into rare disease therapies and direct-to-consumer natural products
* The promise of longevity interventions discovered through unbiased phenotypic screening to prevent age-related diseases and transform human health
Quotes:
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.
“What really sets us apart is that we do phenotypic screening, in live animals."
"If you are finding interventions that target those fundamental drivers of aging, you expect them to have multiple different impacts on age-associated diseases. But as we test more longevity interventions, we see that they also have all kinds of different impacts on non–age-associated disease models.
“It’s really just taking the geroscience hypothesis seriously: If an intervention impacts aging, it’s likely to have impacts across many different disease stages, even ones that we wouldn’t necessarily think about as being related.”
“We've seen examples of how this plays out with things like rapamycin. So it's really incredible the types of therapeutic benefits that can be had through these kinds of interventions.”
"There's going to be a never before seen boom in enthusiasm, interest, engagement, and demand for longevity therapeutics. And what we're doing today is putting ourselves in the position where we're going to be able to meet that challenge in the next three to five years."
Links:
Email questions, comments, and feedback to podcast@bioagelabs.com
Translating Aging on Twitter: @bioagepodcast
BioAge Labs Website bioagelabs.com
BioAge Labs Twitter @bioagelabs
BioAge Labs LinkedIn
Ora BioMedical
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May 31, 2023
Synergizing Synbio & Longevity: A Panel Discussion at SynBioBeta 2023
This special episode features a panel discussion moderated by Chris Patil at the 2023 SynBioBeta conference. The panel brings together leaders from the synthetic biology and longevity communities to explore opportunities for collaboration and cross-pollination between these fields. Panelists discuss the talent bottleneck in longevity research, challenges in translating new discoveries into therapies, the need for improved communication and education, and a shared vision for transforming health and society. The conversation covers existing resources for learning about longevity science, as well as calls to build new communities and networks to accelerate progress. Overall, the panel makes a compelling case that by coming together, synthetic biologists and longevity advocates can achieve breakthroughs that neither field could accomplish alone.
Guests:
* Nathan Cheng, Longevity Biotech Fellowship
* Stephanie Dainow, Lifespan.io
* Daniel Goodman, UCSF
* Kat Kajderowicz, MIT/Whitehead
The Details
* The talent shortage in longevity research and need to attract people from outside the field
* Challenges in developing model systems and translating discoveries from simple organisms to humans
* The role of improved communication, education and “edutainment” in enabling progress
* Existing online resources and communities in longevity science and synthetic biology
* The Time Fellowship and opportunities to get involved for students and early career researchers
* Visions for how synthetic biology could enhance longevity research, including new tools for measurement and diagnostics
* Hopes for progress in the short, medium and long term, from gaining years of healthspan to far future transformational changes
* The importance of breaking down silos, incentivizing collaboration and taking action to achieve ambitious goals
Quotes:
Quotations have been lightly edited for clarity.
Nathan Cheng
* “A lot of people here asked me the difference between working on diseases of aging versus aging itself. And I think a lot of people aren't aware that age-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, even cancer — these are late-stage manifestations of the aging process itself.”
* “I think it's incumbent on us within the longevity community to go seek out the tool developers because they are inundated with all this interest from other players in other fields.”
Stephanie Dainow
* “When it comes to aging, a lot of people you are under the impression that you're born, you will age there probably will be suffering, and then you will die. And that is the cycle of life. Right? That's kind of a standard. And I think this field is pushing that narrative in a direction that is uncomfortable because we're not used to it.”
* “Incentive structures matter. And in longevity, there aren't a lot of organizations that have products yet — forget the supplements, I'm talking about therapeutics — and that means that there aren't business development people, which means there's no selling, which means there's no marketing, which means there's no focus on articulation of the best way to create a narrative around the value prop.”
Dan Goodman:
* “Synthetic biology has lots to offer, as far as measurement and diagnostics and being able to cheaply and at scale measure the effects of aging and the effects of longevity therapies on large populations.”
* “As we get more comfortable, and we get more and more skilled at deploying these tools for disease, it'll be to the point that healthy people will be willing to take these sorts of therapies. and we can do so much to modify the body and immune...
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May 17, 2023
Nurturing the Next Generation of Leaders in Aging Biology (Dr. Courtney Hudson-Paz, Time Initiative)
In this episode of Translating Aging, host Chris Patil is joined by Dr. Courtney Hudson-Paz, the Founder and Program Director of the Time Initiative, an organization whose mission is to build a network of undergraduate leaders in aging biology.
Courtney takes us on a journey into the world of aging biology and the mission of the Time Initiative, highlighting how this groundbreaking organization is cultivating the next generation of leaders. She shares her insights into the importance of early engagement in scientific research, the challenges faced by longevity research, and the transformative potential of geroscience.
In addition, Courtney explains how the core component of the Time Initiative's program, the Time Fellowship, offers a unique opportunity for talented individuals to engage in impactful research, community-building, and mentorship. She notes the pressing need to address age-related diseases and describes the Time Initiative's efforts to create a diverse and inclusive ecosystem in aging biology. She also celebrates the fact that the contributions of ambitious young minds in the field have the potential to accelerate scientific progress and significantly reshape the field of aging biology.
In this podcast, you will learn about the mission and impact of the Time Initiative and discover the strategic importance of early engagement in scientific research and the transformative potential of geroscience. You will also gain insights into the Time Fellowship, as well as the importance of building a diverse and inclusive ecosystem in aging biology, and the role it plays in shaping the future of the field.
Outline
* The Time Initiative’s mission to inspire and cultivate future leaders in aging biology by supporting undergraduates
* The need to expand the talent pool and workforce to drive progress in aging research
* The potential of geroscience and rejuvenation biotech to transform human health and society
* Collaborative efforts with the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)
* Events, resources, and opportunities available through The Time Initiative to educate students about aging research
* The Time Fellowship program:
* Open to all disciplines
* All-expenses paid annual retreat
* Community group and mentorship opportunities
* $8,000 grants for summer projects
* Comparing The Time Initiative to similar organizations also focused on community building in longevity science
* Advice and resources for students interested in aging research and geroscience
* A vision for The Time Initiative’s growth and future impact on the field
Quotes:
“Our motivation is really the same motivation of the field, right? We all see that the world is aging rapidly, we already have a billion people suffering from age related diseases.”
"By focusing on undergrads, we're really investing in the future of the field... nurturing the next generation of leaders, innovators, and researchers."
“I think what makes it unique is the focus on really early stage talent, and going after people that aren't already interested in aging, as well.”
“The idea of the geroscience hypothesis is so compelling, that I feel like just the exposure is enough.”
“I want to firmly establish it as a key driving force in the field of aging. I want to grow our networks of fellows, our mentors and our partners. I envision a future where our fellows are empowered by this experience through our program and they become influential figures in the field.”
"The opportunities and possibility of the impact we can have in people's lives...is worth that extra funding and really deserves extra attention."
"I want them conducting cutting-edge research and pioneering innovative treatments."
"Stay curious. Be bold. Ask the questions, look for answers.
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May 3, 2023
Epigenetic Reprogramming Therapies to Extend Healthspan (Dr. Jacob Kimmel, Head of Research, NewLimit)
Jacob Kimball is the Head of Research and co-founder of NewLimit, a company aiming to develop epigenetic reprogramming therapies to treat age-related diseases and extend human healthspan.
In this episode, Chris and Jacob have an in-depth discussion about NewLimit’s mission and approach. They explore how NewLimit is leveraging epigenetics and machine learning to search for new ways to reverse cell aging without changing cell identity. NewLimit is systematically testing combinations of biological factors that can reprogram cell age, using both biological experimentation and computational modeling at scale, and Jacob shares insights into the cutting-edge science and technology behind this work: how functional genomics allows NewLimit to run hundreds to thousands of experiments in a single dish, how machine learning is used in their research, and the challenges of translating epigenetic reprogramming from the lab to the clinic.
Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the promise of epigenetic reprogramming to revolutionize how we treat aging and age-related disease.
The Finer Details:
* Epigenetics as a regulator of gene expression in cell differentiation and aging
* NewLimit’s mission and approach to tackling the challenges in aging research through epigenetic reprogramming
* The potential for age reversal built into our biology
* How NewLimit is using machine learning and biological experimentation in combination to generate new hypotheses and discoveries
* The potential for epigenetic reprogramming to improve the function of the aging immune system The biggest challenges in translating these discoveries to medicines, including delivery, pharmacokinetics, and ensuring safe and durable effects
* A vision for how rejuvenation biotech could transform health and society in the coming decades if key breakthroughs are made
Quotes:
"Epigenetics is this layer of regulation that tells your cell, ‘Which genes can I use from my genome, at which times?’"
"Our goal as a company is to increase human health span, and the way I like to frame that more colloquially is we want to increase the number of happy, healthy years each person gets to spend on Earth."
“Even with just those sorts of data available, we're already able to build models that perform better than randomly searching through the experimental hypothesis space, and already performed better than our rough heuristics about which interventions might be most impactful.”
"We know that you can actually just express these four genes and reprogram even an old cell all the way back to an embryonic-like state, which not only changes the cell's type, the role it's playing, but also its age."
"Our approach is trying to discover ways we can reprogram cell age without reprogramming cell type."
"The challenge that we run into is that there are so many combinations that very quickly it would become intractable to line up enough test tubes to test them all.”
"Transient interventions could have durable phenotypic benefits for a patient. However, that space hasn't been explored very richly. We know very little about just how long some of these interventions last."
“I think what I'm strongly hopeful for is that, if such medicines are to exist, that you can actually increase the number of happy, healthy years each one of us gets.”
“I think in the next five to 10 years, we're going to see some of the first applications of this technology and the clinics, some of the first proof points, that these interventions actually can benefit patients in a material way.”
“What I hope that means for someone like myself is that the number of years in which I can plausibly consider hiking the John Muir Trail increases in a measurable way. And likewise, for those of you with other hobbies, I hope that these sorts of...
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Mar 15, 2023
A New Approach for Cardiovascular Disease (Dr. Matthew O’Connor, Cyclarity Therapeutics)
In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Dr. Matthew "Oki" O'Connor, CEO for Scientific Affairs at Cyclarity Therapeutics, a company focused on eliminating arterial plaque, a prevalent issue in old age. Dr. O'Connor shares his insights on the causes and effects of atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death worldwide, and how aging contributes to plaque build-up. The podcast emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift in addressing cardiovascular disease and highlights the importance of new approaches to repair vessels throughout the body and brain.
Together, Chris and Dr. O’Connor begin by discussing atherosclerosis, its significant impact on cardiovascular disease, and the need to understand the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying aging and diseases related to aging. They also cover the limitations of current clinical treatments for atherosclerosis and the importance of a paradigm shift towards new approaches that can repair vessels throughout the body and brain. Dr. O’Connor then goes on to describe Cyclarity’s unique drug, a cyclodextrin, explaining how it could be a promising solution to the harmful effects of atherosclerosis. The podcast also explores the potential of combination therapy with traditional lipid-lowering drugs to address multiple aspects of atherosclerosis.
Join Chris and Dr. O’Connor here today to gain a greater understanding of the remarkable work undertaken by Cyclarity Therapeutics, the impact of aging on cardiovascular health, the need for new approaches to address atherosclerosis, and the unique drug therapy combination that may offer a promising solution, revolutionizing its treatment in the process.
The Finer Details:
* Cyclarity Therapeutics and the work they undertake
* Atherosclerosis
* Cardiovascular dysfunction
* The build-up of arterial plaque
* The implications of aging-related targets
* The need for a paradigm shift towards looking at new approaches to repair vessels
* The limitations of current clinical treatments for atherosclerosis
* The limitations in the standard of care for LDL and HDL cholesterol
* Understanding the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying aging and the diseases of aging.
* The need for new treatments
* The cyclodextrin drug and how it works
* The need for combination therapies that will target multiple aspects of atherosclerosis
* Cyclarity Therapeutics’ trials
Quotes:
"Cardiovascular dysfunction, depending on which metastudy you believe, between 30 and 50% of all death on the planet is caused by the build-up of plaque in the arteries."
"Atherosclerosis is the thickening of the arteries, which means in the vessel wall, you have a build up of material called plaque, which starts out as a fatty streak in the wall of a blood vessel."
"There's no way to avoid the concept or the idea that a basic molecular mechanism, a biochemical mechanism of aging is going to impact many, if not all, cells and tissue systems."
"By the time that you're doing vascular surgery on somebody, you've kind of lost the game. You clearly missed an opportunity to prevent a bad thing from happening in the first place."
"We really need a paradigm shift to look at new approaches to addressing cardiovascular disease."
"I think the average non-specialist just thinks of cholesterol as this, like, weird molecule that's in your body for some reason, but is totally bad."
"Those lipid lowering drugs do actually save lives and keep atherosclerosis from getting worse faster. But we are trying to invent a better way to do it, a more elegant way to get rid of only the most toxic forms of cholesterol so that your arteries can repair themselves the way that they're engineered to."
"I imagine that our treatment, at least at first, will be paired with the standard of care, which...
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Feb 22, 2023
Targeting Pathologic Cells to Preserve Biological Youth (Dr. Marco Quarta, Rubedo Life Sciences)
Dr. Marco Quarta, CEO and Co-founder of Rubedo Life Sciences, joins Chris on today’s episode to discuss his company’s strategy of targeting pathologic cells to develop therapeutics for chronic degenerative conditions. The conversation covers the evolving definition of senescence and the challenges of identifying and classifying pathologic cells, which vary across different tissues and indications. Marco also announces the upcoming Senotherapeutic Summit in November, which will bring together stakeholders from different fields to advance therapeutic research.
Marco and Chris also review Rubedo Life Sciences' clinical development approach: targeting the aging process with the goal of helping healthy stem and immune cells to repair. They then go on to discuss the funding and work required for the selection and nomination of a lead candidate for a project, the importance of having access to primary clinical samples to test efficacy, and the subsequent steps of the grant awarding process. The conversation then turns to the value of having multiple programs running simultaneously.
Tune in today to learn more about the ‘sneaky’ process of senescence that accelerates aging, the toxicity of these rare cells and the development of small molecules that can target them, the complexities of developing new therapies, and the value of having a robust pipeline of programs to advance therapeutic R&D.
The Finer Details:
* Defining pathological cells and their role in chronic degenerative conditions
* Identifying, classifying, and targeting senescent cells
* The need for a focused effort in identifying specific targets for therapeutics
* The evolution of the definition of senescence and the existence of multiple types of senescent cells
* The Senotherapeutic Summit in November and its goal of advancing the field of therapeutics
* Running multiple programs simultaneously
* The upcoming event in Saudi Arabia aimed at accelerating and promoting healthy longevity.
Quotes:
"These are aberrant cells, dysfunctional cells, and maladaptive cells that are contributing to shift the microenvironment and leading to progression of chronic degenerative conditions, driving chronic inflammation, fibrosis, stem cell depletion, and cancer."
"There are no universal pathologic cells across all tissues or indications. So it really depends on your question and finding targets associated with those that you can really go after in a drug discovery pipeline to generate therapeutics."
"We are hoping to push forward the conversation about what senescent cells are, how we can classify them, and how we can move forward with targeting these cells."
"We are testing back to back multiple indications including for example, chronic age related atopic dermatitis and others."
"And it's a very important event that we'll have major stakeholders from high level government officials and scientists and innovators business leaders and really the idea of promoting a healthy longevity and how can we accelerate this."
Links:
Email questions, comments, and feedback to podcast@bioagelabs.com
Translating Aging on Twitter: @bioagepodcast
BIOAGE Labs Website BIOAGELabs.com
BIOAGE Labs Twitter @bioagelabs
BIOAGE Labs LinkedIn
Rubedo...
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Jan 25, 2023
Bone Marrow Banking for Cell Therapy Material at Scale (Kevin Caldwell, Ossium Health)
In today’s episode, Chris sits down with Kevin Caldwell, CEO, Co-Founder, and President of Ossium Health, a company that aims to improve human health and longevity through bioengineering - specifically using stem cell science to create materials for cell therapies. Together, they discuss Ossium’s approach: processing and banking of bone marrow from organ donors, which can then be cryopreserved and used for various clinical applications such as bone marrow transplants for blood cancer patients and emerging stem cell therapies. Kevin also shares details of his background as a lawyer in the stem cell industry and the potential of stem cell therapies in increasing the availability of bone marrow for treatment options.
He then goes on to describe his company's clinical programs and their goal of increasing the percentage of patients who ultimately get bone marrow transplants. In addition, he reviews the company's plans for using stem cell therapies in preventive medicine, their focus on improving long-term health and lowering costs, and the company's clinical trial for treating GVHD. Finally, he says a few words about Ossium’s place in the longevity biotech sector.
Listen in today to not only learn about the potential of stem cell therapies and the importance of increasing the availability of bone marrow for treatment options for blood cancer patients, but to also gain valuable insights into the future of healthcare itself.
The Finer Details of this Episode:
* Ossium Health and the work it does
* Processing and banking bone marrow from organ donors
* Kevin Caldwell’s professional background
* The potential of stem cell therapies and the impact of increasing the availability of bone marrow
* The clinical applications of cryopreserved bone marrow
* The technicalities and the importance of cryopreservation of bone marrow.
* Ossium Health's clinical programs and their focus on treating patients with acute myeloid and acute lymphoid leukemia.
* The company's plans for using stem cell therapies in preventive medicine
* Their focus on improving long-term health and lowering costs.
* The goals of Ossium Health
* Ossium’s clinical trial for treating GVHD
* Working with the FDA
Quotes:
"Every year in the United States, there are about 20,000 people diagnosed with leukemia who go looking for a bone marrow transplant… 40% of those people… ultimately do not receive a transplant. Many of those people die while looking for a donor."
"Other people become so weak during the process of searching for a donor that they're taken off the list."
"There are also many emerging applications of the stem cells that are native to the bone marrow, treatments for diseases of inflammation, treatments that enable people to receive organ transplants without immunosuppression."
"Ossium has developed a process for processing and banking bone marrow from organ donors, cryopreserving those cells, and then doing further selection and engineering on the cells to prepare them for different clinical applications."
“There's a number of steps that we have to take to go from that solid bone to bone marrow for cryopreservation.”
"Our goal is to dramatically increase the percentage of patients who ultimately get bone marrow transplants."
"Bone marrow transplants are not FDA regulated. They're treated like organ transplants by law."
"One of the things about prevention that is most powerful is that if you achieve it, you can both improve long-term health relative to retrospective treatment, and ultimately lower cost. For us, prevention is a North Star.”
“If we think about our goal of trying to broadly improve human health, one system that is involved in our response to essentially all disease is the immune system.”
"At Ossium, what we're really building is
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Dec 14, 2022
Hacking the Complex System of Aging (Peter Fedichev, GERO)
This week, we welcomes Peter Fedichev, an entrepreneur and scientist with over 20 years of experience in academic research and biotech business who has co-founded three biotech companies. He’s currently the co-founder & CEO of GERO, a longevity startup on a mission to hack aging.
In this episode, Chris and Peter discuss GERO’s goal to accelerate our understanding of aging and create a therapy that will significantly extend a healthy human lifespan. First, they talk about the relationship between physics and biotech, and from there, the conversation moves to the importance of resilience in human and animal aging. Finally, Peter walks us through GERO’s drug discovery approach, how we can ‘hack’ complex dynamic systems and aging using AI, and shares his optimism about the future of aging research.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
* Discussing complex systems and aging
* Understanding slower aging in some animals
* Resilience and dynamic stability
* The dynamic f…
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Nov 16, 2022
Understanding Aging to Develop Interventions (Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, University of Copenhagen)
This week, Chris welcomes Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, who’s on a mission to understand, modulate and treat aging and age-related diseases. His research group, The Scheibye-Knudsen Lab, is trying to understand the cellular and organismal consequences of DNA damage & repair with the aim of developing interventions for aging. Morten is also one of the chairs and chief organizers of the highly successful aging research and Drug Discovery conference, ARDD.
In this episode, Chris and Morten talk about interventions in the aging process and why it’s important to better understand aging in order to hopefully treat age-related diseases someday. First off, they discuss the contribution of DNA repair pathways to aging, and then Morten explains the diverging consequences of DNA damage, establishing the pivotal role that DNA damage plays in the aging process. From there they delve into how ketones work in the brain, as well as the connection…
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Oct 12, 2022
Optimizing Healthspan through Longevity Medicine (Dr. Andrea Maier – The Center for Healthy Longevity)
Optimizing Healthspan through Longevity Medicine (Dr. Andrea Maier – The Center for Healthy Longevity)
Dr. Andrea Maier is an internal medicine specialist, geriatrician, and researcher whose work focuses on age-related disease, cellular senescence, and the translation of longevity science into clinical practice. Among her academic appointments are professorships at the Free University, Amsterdam and the Netherlands, the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the National University of Singapore, where she also serves as the co-director of the Center for Healthy Longevity.
On today’s episode, Dr. Maier joins host Chris Patil to discuss longevity medicine, her goals for building credibility in this emerging specialty, and how lifestyle changes are key to intervening in the aging process. First, she explains that longevity medicine means optimizing the state of health of an individual before a disease occurs by antagonizing the aging processes to be healthier for longer. This foc…
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Sep 28, 2022
Investing in Longbio True Believers (Sebastian Brunemeier, Healthspan Capital & ImmuneAge Pharma)
In today’s episode, Chris welcomes Sebastian Brunemeier, a biotech VC and company builder focused on longevity and regenerative medicine. Sebastien is the Co-Founder and General Partner of Healthspan Capital, a longevity VC firm that invests in biotechnology startups developing therapies to slow or reverse aging, and the CEO and Co-Founder of ImmuneAGE Pharma, a new company based on a drug discovery platform for immune rejuvenation.
At Healthspan Capital, Sebastian is looking to invest in fellow “true believers” in longevity and regenerative medicine—companies that understand the importance of aging as a focus for biotech and won’t pivot away from longevity as a focus.
Sebastian’s newest venture, ImmuneAge Pharma, is focused on rejuvenating the immune system. With over 100 years of combined drug discovery expertise, the company aims to systematically identify small molecules that rejuvenate hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). As Sebastian points out, the goal of longevity…
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Sep 14, 2022
Investing in Longevity (Nils Regge, Apollo Health Ventures)
Joining Chris on the podcast today is Nils Regge, Co-founder and Managing Director of Apollo Health Ventures. As a social entrepreneur, company creator, and biotech expert, Nils built Apollo Health Ventures in 2016 to help health tech companies develop methods to prevent and reverse the aging process and extend the healthy human life span.
At Apollo, Nils makes use of his dealmaking skills, business knowledge, and prior experience growing startups to help boost the success of biotech and health companies. As the general public becomes increasingly interested in longevity and medical advancements continue to take place at rapid rates, Apollo is a leader in funding and fueling efforts to ensure healthier and longer human lifespans. At the moment, things are looking up as there is a lot of excitement in the industry - however, Regge finds it important to temper that enthusiasm with the right kind of skepticism. In a field in which any new advancement is seemingly revol…
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Aug 24, 2022
Safe & Synergistic Combination Drugs to Promote Healthy Aging (Ann Beliën, Rejuvenate BioMed)
In this episode of the BioAge podcast, Ann Beliën joins Chris Patil today to share the story behind Rejuvenate Biomed, and her journey into the longevity sector. She started her career at Johnson & Johnson after receiving her postdoctoral degree, and during her tenure, she worked in scientific, operational, and strategic roles. Twenty years later, she became the founder and CEO of Rejuvenate Biomed, a Belgian company evaluating combinations of safe and synergistic drugs that target physical decline and promote healthy aging.
One of Rejuvenate’s main focus areas is sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass and strength during aging. When muscle decay starts to prevent people from leaving the house and living a quality life, mental health and quality of life decline rapidly. The company’s first combination therapy to reach clinical trials, currently in a Phase 1b study, will be initially tested as a treatment for this complex disease. More clinical trials are in the works, with t…
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Aug 10, 2022
Building Longevity Companies in Europe (Marc P. Bernegger)
Today’s guest on the podcast is Marc Bernegger, a serial tech entrepreneur who has been following developments in the field of longevity since 2009. Recently he became a founding partner of the Swiss company, Maximon, whose core missions is building companies and providing support to longevity entrepreneurs.
Marc has worked for over a decade between two continents at this point, and his interest in longevity has never been more intense. From aging skin to gut microbiomes, there’s a lot of work and research left to do, and if you’re of Bernegger’s school of thought, longevity is a matter of the present, rather than some notion about the distant future. As you will hear today, Marc is like so many others in his field - putting in the work now to create a better tomorrow.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
* Entrepreneurial support
* Maintaining a growing company
* The future of aging skin
* Cooperation in the longevity biotech sector
* Investment attitudes…
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Jul 27, 2022
Defining and Measuring the Aging Process (Dr. Vadim Gladyshev)
Joining Chris today is Dr. Vadim Gladyshev, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of Redox Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The Gladyshev lab studies redox biology and trace elements as they relate to cancer, reproduction, and aging. Today, Dr. Gladyshev shares with us how his research group investigates the aging process and how aging is quantified in academic research.
Dr. Gladyshev begins by discussing how he got involved in the longevity sector. He goes on to explain that aging has not been clearly defined, and how many researchers define aging differently. He contends that aging should be studied as opposed to age-related diseases because age-related diseases are influenced by other factors aside from aging. The interview concludes with the importance of conferences that address the science of longevity and how these events connect bright minds to tackle unsolved problems in the field.
Episode Highlig…
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Jul 6, 2022
AI and Robotics in Longevity Biotech (Alex Zhavoronkov)
Joining Chris today is Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO and Co-founder of Insilico Medicine, an artificial intelligence–driven pharma-technology company with a mission to accelerate drug discovery and development. Alex is a lifelong advocate for longevity biotech and the author of The Ageless Generation: How Advances in Biomedicine Will Transform the Global Economy. Today, Alex shares the accomplishments that Insilico Medicine has achieved in drug discovery and how AI and robotics come into play.
The episode begins with Alex narrating his experience in the field of longevity and how his interest developed at a young age. He discusses the reason behind building Insilico Medicine, how AI and robotics aid drug discovery in the longevity industry, and how biology and chemistry play a significant role at Insilico Medicine. The episode ends with Alex describing the future he sees for Insilico Medicine and how they can improve human life using AI to advance drug discovery and data generation.
Episod…
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Jun 22, 2022
The Impact of Muscle Aging on Longevity (Dr. Bill Evans)
Back in the host's chair this week, Bob Hughes welcomes Dr. Bill Evans, one of the world's foremost experts on muscle aging, to the podcast. Bill is adjunct professor of Human Nutrition at University of California Berkeley and an adjunct professor of medicine in the Geriatrics Program at Duke. Previously, he was vice president and head of Muscle Metabolism Discovery Performance Unit at GlaxoSmithKline and he was also president of the Muscle and Health Division at KineMed. He was also president of the Muscle and Health Division at KineMed. Earlier this year, he was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 International Conference on Frailty, and Sarcopenia Research. Today, Bill brings his vast amount of experience and expertise to the podcast to discuss how muscle aging affects longevity in older people and the relationship between muscle aging and age-related diseases.
He begins by sharing his experience in the longevity industry, particularly with muscle aging, and go…
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Jun 8, 2022
Eliminating Senescent Cells by Activating the Immune System (Robin Mansukhani, Deciduous Therapeutics)
This week’s episode of Translating Aging features Robin Mansukhani, CEO and Co-founder of Deciduous Therapeutics, a company that aims to positively impact human healthspan by developing medicines which activate the endogenous immune mechanism responsible for the elimination of senescent cells. Today, Robin shares his insights on how senescent cells develop and how Deciduous Therapeutics eliminates them.
Robin begins by explaining what causes the growth of senescent cells. He explains that not all senescent cells are dangerous and discusses the various kinds of these cells. Although senescent cells are prominent in age-related diseases, Robin explains that they are also found in younger people with autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes. He goes on to talk about Deciduous Therapeutics’ approach in combating senescent cells by activating the NKT cells. He also shares his thinking about the best directions for human trials. The episode concludes with Robin describing the futur…
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May 18, 2022
Bringing Talent into the Longevity Industry’s Workforce (Mark Hamalainen)
In today’s episode of Translating Aging, Chris welcomes Mark Hamalainen, the founder and director of LessDeath, to discuss how to encourage the influx of talents into the longevity field. LessDeath is an organization on a mission to support the growth and effectiveness of the longevity industry’s workforce. Today, Mark shares with us his experience in the longevity space, why he founded LessDeath, and what to expect at the upcoming LessDeath Longevity Summer Camp.
Noting that his experience in the longevity space was propelled by his fascination as a teenager, Mark goes on to share details about leaving his Ph.D. program to get hands-on experience in the longevity world and discover the many talents represented in the industry. He speaks about founding LessDeath, what the organization hopes to achieve, the inaugural LessDeath Longevity Summer Camp and the gap this event is hoping to bridge in the industry. Included in this episode are interviews with Stephanie Dainow and Kia Winsl…
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May 4, 2022
VitaDAO - Democratizing Longevity Research through the Blockchain (Tyler Golato and Laurence Ion)
On today’s episode of Translating Aging, Chris welcomes Tyler Golato and Laurence Ion to talk about VitaDAO, a collective accelerating research in human longevity and decentralized drug development. The pair start the conversation off by discussing their company’s roots - a previous business venture that sought to change the incentive structures around drug development. VitaDAO was created as a means to support biological longevity research through decentralized means.
They go on to discuss VitaDAO’s future, how they can increase liquidity, and their goals to advance drug development. Golato and Ion argue that the present is a perfect time to create VitaDAO, given the current intersection between biotech, block chain, and longevity research. They conclude by recalling the early-life dreams that inspired them to enter this field.
Episode Highlights:
* The essence of VitaDAO
* Changing the incentive structures around drug development
* The partners’ passi…
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Apr 6, 2022
Building Community in the Longevity Biotech Space (Nathan Cheng)
On today’s episode of Translating Aging, Chris welcomes Nathan Cheng, the program director at On Deck Longevity Biotech (ODLB), to discuss how ODLB is cultivating new founders and connecting people in the longevity biotech space. Nathan writes about the longevity biotech industry in his Longevity Marketcap Newsletter, is the founder of Longevity List which aims to connect job seekers, companies and investors in the longevity industry, and is on a self-professed mission to end biological aging, Today, he tells us about the purpose of ODLB, its achievements thus far, and the bridge it hopes to build in the longevity biotech industry.
Nathan begins the conversation by discussing what On Deck is and why the company was formed. He briefly narrates his journey in tech, what increased his interest in the longevity space, and the mission of the ODLB, as well as how the fellowship works towards creating founders. He goes on to discuss the obstacles many face when they get accepted in the fel…
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Mar 23, 2022
Aging Goes to Washington! — The Alliance for Longevity Initiatives (Sonia Arrison and Dylan Livingston)
In today's episode, Chris is joined by two leaders of the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, A4LI, the first and only 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization founded with the goal of creating social and political action around the issues of combating age-related chronic conditions and increasing our number of healthy, disease-free years. Sonia Arrison is a best-selling author, analyst, entrepreneur, and investor who is founder of 100 Plus Capital, Chair of the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, co-founder of Unsugarcoat Media (acquired by Medium), and an associate founder of Singularity University. Dylan Livingston, the founder and president of A4LI, has a background in political organizing at the state and national levels.
The conversation begins with our guests reviewing their journey to the world of longevity science and ultimately A4LI. They then explore many aspects of their organization including the needs it will address, the obstacles it will encounter and how it will overcome th…
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Mar 9, 2022
Measuring Biological Age (Dr. Morgan Levine)
Today’s guest is Dr. Morgan Levine, an assistant professor of Pathology and Epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine. She is also a Founding Principal Investigator at Altos, a new biotechnology company focused on cellular rejuvenation programming to restore cell health and resilience. Dr. Levine shares her expertise on biological aging, aging clocks, cellular reprogramming, and a peek into the research she’s currently undertaking at Altos here today.
She starts the conversation by explaining the differences between biological aging and chronological aging. She then delves into topics surrounding biological clocks such as DNA methylation, and discusses her work at Altos and how this will differ from an academic environment. Dr. Levine finishes up by highlighting what Altos hopes to bring to science and biotech in years to come.
In today’s episode, you’ll learn the difference between biological and chronological aging, the nature of biological clocks, and some of the exciting…
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Feb 23, 2022
Stem Cell Biology and Longevity Research with Dr. Thomas Rando
Today’s guest is Dr. Thomas Rando, Professor, Neurology; Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, and a pioneer in stem cell biology and the biology of aging. Dr. Rando is the Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors at Fountain Therapeutics. In today’s episode, he shares information surrounding cell cycle, parabiosis, and replacement therapy.
Dr. Rando begins by explaining why the cell cycle is important and the place of aging cells in the world of cell cycle. He explains the quiescent states of cells and how heterochronic parabiosis has been tested on animals to determine if cells in a younger animal can be used to activate those in an older animal. He also discusses how three factors impact aging: genetics, diet, and exercise.
In this episode, you’ll learn the meaning and importance of cell cycle and parabiosis and how they…
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Feb 9, 2022
Cellular senescence in aging and disease (Dr. Marco Demaria)
Dr. Marco Demaria is an Associate Professor in Cellular Ageing at the Medical Faculty of the University of Groningen. In 2018, he co-founded a start-up company, Cleara Biotech, devoted to developing anti-senescence drugs. Today, Dr. Demaria shares his insights and research on how senescence promotes aging and factors that promote the creation of senescent cells.
In this episode, Dr. Demaria explains what cellular senescence means and discusses the good and bad that comes with having senescent cells in the body. He explains the role of senolytics in combating senescent cells and how senescent cells could be the cause of the severity of COVID in older people.
In this episode, you’ll learn how senescent cells contribute to aging, the evolution of the senescent field, some current studies in the field, and what Dr. Demaria hopes to see in the field in years to come.
Episode Highlights:
* What is cellular senescence?
* The positive and negative sides of senescent cells
* The rol…
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Jan 26, 2022
The TAME trial and beyond (Dr. Nir Barzilai — AECOM)
The TAME trial and beyond (Dr. Nir Barzilai)
Dr. Nir Barzilai is the founding director of the Institute for Aging Research, the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, and the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Human Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He is also the author of the book Age Later. Today, Dr. Nir brings his expertise to the podcast for a discussion regarding longevity and aging.
Nir starts the conversation with a discussion on the existing regulatory frameworks that create impediments to the longevity biotech sector such as the FDA regulations. He also explores the use of metformin in combating age-related diseases, the clinical trials surrounding metformin being carried out in the Longevity Biotech Association, dealing with members of the government, and his perspective regarding what longevity biotech will be like in 5 years.
In this episode, you’ll learn the uses of metformin and its relatio…
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Jan 12, 2022
Natural history & the evolution of aging (Professor Steven Austad — University of Alabama)
Professor Steven Austad is a distinguished researcher in geroscience and the Protective Life Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He's also the Director of the Nathan Shock Center at UAB and the Senior Scientific Director of the American Federation for Aging Research.
Today, Professor Austad joins Bob Hughes to discuss the biology of aging. He begins by narrating the discovery that sparked his interest in aging and his transition from animal behavior to the biology of aging. He discusses how these discoveries led him to the rate of living theory—the idea that the rate of aging is determined by your metabolic rate—and explains a somewhat paradoxical aspect to this theory: the hummingbird, which has a high metabolic rate, is relatively long-lived. He goes on to review evolutionary ideas to understand the rate of living theory, shares his striking discovery about how possums age more slowly in the absence of predation, and describes both why bi…
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Dec 15, 2021
Personalized cell therapies at scale (Dr. Nabiha Saklayen — Cellino)
Dr. Nabiha Saklayen is CEO & co-founder of Cellino, a personalized regenerative medicine company developing an AI-guided laser editing platform for autologous cell-based therapies. Cellino’s proprietary technology aims to make personalized stem cell-derived therapies scalable for the first time. Dr. Saklayen received her Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) International Fellow.
In this episode, she joins Chris Patil to discuss autologous cell therapy and the strides Cellino has made in cell therapy using Machine Learning and laser technology. Dr. Saklayen talks about the challenges that come with autologous cell therapy, particularly in the manufacturing and cost aspect, and how Cellino infuses automation to make this procedure easier. She discusses how machine learning is integrated in the whole process and gives a brief insight into her career as a physicist and founding Cellino. She rounds up by discussing the future of Cellino…
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Dec 1, 2021
DISCO: A New Model for Entrepreneurship in Longevity Biotech (Dr. James Peyer — Cambrian Biopharma)
Dr. James Peyer, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of Cambrian Biopharma, a Distributed xDevelopment Company developing therapeutics targeting the biological drivers of aging.
Cambrian Biopharma brings together experts, scientists, and experienced company builders in a new model of entrepreneurship related to health span and aging. Dr. Peyer was previously the founder of Apollo Ventures, a successful venture capital firm focused on the longevity biotech space. He has spoken on the topic of longevity biotech and investing for Bloomberg, The Economist, TEDx, Longevity Leaders, ETH Zurich, and the Max Planck Institute on the Biology of Aging.
Today, Dr. Peyer joins host Chris Patil to discuss venture capitalism in the longevity space and the new models that are changing the game. After discussing his previous experiences with VC, Dr. Peyer introduces the Distributed Development Company (DISCO) model, which allows scientists to partner with an umbrella company (like Cambrian) instead of se…
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Nov 10, 2021
Big Data and Human Health & Longevity (Prof. Michael Snyder — Stanford Medicine)
Professor Michael Snyder is the Chair of Genetics at Stanford School of Medicine, where his research group develops and uses technologies to study biological regulatory networks and applies these approaches to understand human variation and health. He's founded multiple biotech startups and has authored a book titled Genomics and Personalized Medicine: What Everyone Needs to Know.
Today, Professor Snyder joins host Bob Hughes to discuss the impact of big data on human health. He reviews the results of his research, carried out on 109 people including himself, which entails collecting numerous types of health data and building an informative data profile, as opposed to the traditional approach of collecting just a few pieces of information. He goes on to share his personal story of how collecting deep data on himself helped him change his lifestyle after being diagnosed as a type two diabetic - using precision medicine to control diabetes. Professor Snyder also explores how DNA met…
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Oct 27, 2021
Accelerating drug discovery for aging and its diseases (Ben Kamens - Spring Discovery)
Ben Kamens is the founder and CEO of Spring Discovery, a company devoted to accelerating therapies for aging and its diseases. Prior to that, Ben was the first engineer for Khan Academy, which provides free online education to millions of users around the world. Today Ben joins host Chris Patil to discuss Spring Discovery’s mission to increase healthy lifespan and dramatically reduce disease, his experience with Khan Academy and how it connected to his work in biotechnology, and overcoming challenges in the field of aging.
Ben tells Chris about his pragmatic approach to building a company, how Spring Discovery plans to accelerate drug discovery and clinical development, and their collegial relationship with BioAge and other companies in the longevity biotech sector. Ben chats about Spring Discovery’s recent Series B funding, then offers a sneak peek into their therapeutic pipeline, and details his experience running a nonprofit clinical trial for a generic drug to fight against…
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Oct 13, 2021
The naked mole rat: A model of successful aging (Dr. Rochelle Buffenstein — Calico Life Sciences)
Rochelle Buffenstein is one of the world’s leading authorities on the naked mole rat, a fascinating animal that has emerged as an important model for research in longevity science. Dr. Buffenstein is currently a senior principal investigator at Calico Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Alphabet, that is seeking to better understand the biology that controls aging and lifespan.
Today Dr. Buffenstein joins host Bob Hughes to explain why the naked mole rat is such a powerful model of successful aging. She talks about their resistance to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration, and what this means for improving human health. You’ll hear about the role of Nrf-2 signaling in maintaining optimal health, looking beyond common animal model systems to understand aging more deeply, and the advantages of looking at health and longevity in naked mole rats versus mice. Dr. Buffenstein also discusses the typical hallmarks of aging and inflammation as they present in the naked mole ra…
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Sep 29, 2021
Building networks and community around aging research (Leanne Jones and Saul Villeda of the Bakar Aging Research Institute)
Earlier this year, the University of California San Francisco launched the Bakar Aging Research Institute (BARI), a scientific community that aims to translate breakthroughs in aging research across many disciplines into new approaches and treatments that help people remain healthy and vibrant in later life. Here to tell us about the Institute are Professor Leanne Jones, who moved from UCLA to UCSF to serve as Director of BARI, and Associate Professor and Associate Director of BARI, Saul Villeda. Today Dr. Jones and Dr. Villeda join host Chris Patil to discuss the mission and structure of the Institute, as well as their goal to bring people from different campuses together to push forward the field of aging research as a whole.
Dr. Jones and Dr. Villeda talk about the collaborative culture at UCSF, lowering barriers to resources across disciplines, and what inspired the idea behind the Institute. They explain how they plan to foster communication between basic scientists, clinicians,…
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Sep 15, 2021
Gene therapy screening to discover aging targets (Martin Borch Jensen - Gordian Biotechnology)
Gene therapy screening to discover aging targets (Martin Borch Jensen - Gordian Biotechnology)
Gordian Biotechnology is a San Francisco Bay Area biotech company that has created the first in vivo therapeutic screening platform aimed at drug development for complex diseases of aging. Co-founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Martin Borch Jensen joins the show today to discuss Gordian’s unique in vivo pooled screening in animals, as well as which indications they are targeting, their strategy to bring drugs to market, and how Gordian is currently tackling the challenges inherent to animal models. Martin also speaks about his passion from an early age to help fight age-related disease, and making the transition from academia to entrepreneurship, giving up a K99 fellowship at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging to make the jump into biotech.
You’ll also hear about Martin’s involvement in multiple efforts to promote longevity science and bring new people into the field, inclu…
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Sep 1, 2021
Changing the Narrative on Women’s Reproductive Longevity (Dr. Jennifer Garrison, Buck Institute & GCRLE)
On today’s episode is Dr. Jennifer Garrison, Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and the Faculty Director of the Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity and Equality (GCRLE), which is devoted to supporting breakthrough research on reproductive aging and women in science through funding, training, infrastructure, and collaborative intellectual networks.
Dr. Garrison explains that while there are plenty of scientists working on aging and plenty who are working on reproductive biology, there are precious few who are working at the interface of these two fields, which is what they are trying to build at the GCRLE. She shares her fascination with ovarian biology and how it fits into the broader context of longevity research, and details the issue of equality in terms of women having to plan their life choices around reproductive longevity in ways that men do not, as well as funding for women’s health being traditionally overlooked. Dr. Garrison answers questio…
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Aug 18, 2021
The Cures Within Us (Hanadie Yousef — Juvena Therapeutics)
Dr. Hanadie Yousef is a scientist, aging biology expert and the co-founder and CEO of Juvena Therapeutics, a Palo Alto-based biopharma startup developing protein-based therapeutics to promote tissue regeneration and increase healthspan to prevent, reverse, and cure degenerative diseases.
Dr. Yousef joins host Dr. Chris Patil to discuss Juvena’s premise, their use of a machine learning platform to identify proteins that have therapeutic potential, and what most excites her about turning signaling proteins into therapeutics. She answers questions about handling potential challenges within Juvena’s approach, their strategy for bringing drugs to market, and the first aging indication that they are targeting - muscular rejuvenation. Dr. Yousef outlines Juvena’s plans for a clinical study in patients with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 by 2023, and shares what’s coming down the pipeline next for her team. You’ll also hear about Dr. Yousef’s transition from academic science to becom…
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Aug 4, 2021
The Dog Aging Project: Understanding longevity in our canine companions
The Dog Aging Project is an innovative initiative that brings together a community of dogs, owners, veterinarians, researchers, and volunteers to carry out the most ambitious canine health study in the world. The goal of the Dog Aging Project is to understand how genes, lifestyle, and environment influence aging, and to use that information to help pets and people increase their healthspan, the period of life spent free from disease.
Co-directors Dr. Daniel Promislow and Dr. Matt Kaeberlein join the show to discuss the origins of the Dog Aging Project, the overall goals for their initiative, and why dogs are a particularly good model for human aging. They talk about their funding through the National Institutes of Health, the extensive scale of the Dog Aging Project, and its “Community Scientist” component, with canine participants still living at home with their owners. Professors Promislow and Kaeberlein explain their use of molecular biology measures to predict health outcome…
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Jul 21, 2021
Giving our best friends more time: Healthy aging for dogs (Celine Halioua, CEO of Loyal)
Loyal is a San Francisco-based startup that is seeking to treat the underlying causes of aging in dogs. Loyal has raised $11 million in seed funding so far, and is planning to start clinical trials of medications in 2022 and 2023. In this episode, BioAge VP-Media Chris Patil talks with Celine Halioua, CEO and founder of Loyal.
Celine beginswith by describing the striking difference in lifespan among the dog species, with smaller breeds like the Chihuahua living twice as long as larger breeds like the Great Dane. She explains how historical inbreeding to create larger dogs actually caused them to age faster, and her plan to develop a drug that compensates for this accidental genetic disorder. Celine tells us about The Healthspan Study, which tracks aging markers in dogs, as well as what inspired her to start Loyal, and how their research complements the goals of the University of Washington Dog Aging Project. Celine breaks down the role of caloric restriction in anti-aging across speci…
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Jul 7, 2021
Unlocking animal biology to fight disease in humans (Dr. Ashley Zehnder — CEO, Fauna Bio)
Dr. Ashley Zehnder is the co-founder and CEO of Fauna Bio, a San Francisco, Bay Area-based company founded in 2018. Fauna Bio has adopted a fascinating strategy for drug development, studying animal genomics to cure human diseases. They use unique and varied proprietary data sources to identify novel drug targets across a range of clinical applications, beginning with cardiovascular protection. Dr. Zehnder is a veterinarian-scientist at the intersection of animal biology and human health. Today she joins the show to discuss her background in Cancer Biology, her specialty training in exotic/non-traditional species, and the experience of launching Fauna Bio with co-founders, Dr. Linda Goodman and Dr. Katie Grabek in 2018.
Dr. Zehnder explains how genomes from non-model systems and animals can inform our thinking about human disease, why her background in veterinary medicine gives her an advantage in studying comparative physiology, and what her team has learned about neurodegeneration f…
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Jun 23, 2021
Dr. Eric Verdin — Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Joining host Dr. Robert Hughes today on this inaugural episode of Translating Aging is our distinguished guest, Dr. Eric Verdin. Dr. Verdin is the president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where his research primarily focuses on the relationship between aging and the immune system, and how immune aging is regulated by nutrition. He is also a Professor of Medicine at UCSF.
Dr. Verdin begins by sharing his medical background, including his early research on HIV transcription and what drew him to the field of aging. He discusses NAD Metabolism, its connection to the regulation of sirtuins, and his research on why NAD levels decrease during aging, which has a deleterious effect on a variety of organs. Dr. Verdin answers questions about whether NAD supplementation could be helpful in fighting aging and disease, the emergence of startup companies in the Bay Area that are attempting to address aging directly, and the challenges of conducting research on aging when it is…
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May 26, 2021
Trailer
Description:
On Translating Aging, we talk with the worldwide community of researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors who are moving longevity science from the lab to the clinic. We bring you a commanding view of the entire field, in the words of the people and companies who are moving it forward today. The podcast is sponsored by BioAge labs, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies to extend human healthspan by targeting the molecular causes of aging.
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