This book and my work would not have been possible without the scientists and wonderful volunteers who made our research possible—the centenarians, their offspring, and the people in our control groups. These volunteers agreed to be interviewed and allowed us to take blood samples and conduct a variety of tests, including MRIs of their brains and CT scans of their coronary arteries. Many of these volunteers participated in studies throughout the years, showing up rain or shine and are inspiring us all. It’s a beautiful partnership and I wish them all extended health span. To the wonderful study team members who guide our participants, treat them kindly, and keep them informed, thank you!
When I built a nutritional village in South Africa in the early 1980s, I purchased many three-legged pots for cooking. The most important feature of the pot is that it has three legs, which provide maximum stability. Three legs have supported me in my journey—my family, my colleagues, and my friends—and there are three legs to my family as well. The first is my wife, Laura, the reason I came to the United States and my true partner in life, along with our wonderfully talented and public-spirited children, Maya and Ben, who have extended endless help with reviewing the manuscript and providing comments. Maya and Ben are just beginning their professional journeys, which I hope will be as exciting as mine, and even longer and healthier. The second leg of the family represents my parents, David and Drora, who taught me the value of family and gave me my “little” sisters, Osnat and Netta, who encourage and advise me daily, with unconditional love, from different time zones. The third leg is my extended family. I am grateful to my aunt, Ruti Barzilai, now the matriarch of our family; to my brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; to Ayal and Orna Bar-David; and to Bernice and Jerry Rubenstein, who have supported my journey in so many ways. I am inspired by my nieces and nephews, whom I hope will benefit from the ongoing research in the field of aging.
Many of my colleagues are mentioned throughout the manuscript, but there are many others who made amazing contributions to the field or have collaborated with me during my thirty-year journey. My first mentor is my father, David, whose experience as an internist, an endocrinologist, a chief of medicine, and dean of a medical school is always on my mind. He and my uncle Ami were medical pioneers in Israel and both were inspirations to me.
I owe special thanks to three people who have been essential threads in the fabric of my personal and professional life: Hassy Cohen, my partner in science, biotech, and friendship for more than forty years; Jon Stern, who has been like a brother to me for decades and has taught me entrepreneurship; and David Sinclair, a friend and partner in many efforts, whose science inspires me and the entire geoscience field. Other scientists who opened the most important doors at crucial times in my career and allowed me to become a leader include Eddy Karnieli, Ralph deFronzo, Paul Deuitch, Amir Lerman, Norman Fleischer, Harry Shamoon, Luciano Rossetti, George Martin, Alan Shuldiner, Felipe Sierra, Ron Kohansky, Jill Crandall, Meredith Hawkins, John Amatruda, Jeff Pessin, Joe Verghese, Yousin Suh, and Gil Atzmon.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine has been my professional home for nearly three decades and was supportive of what may have seemed at the time a crazy idea to open the Institute for Aging Research. This institute could not exist without the strong leadership of partners I admire, my friends and collaborators Ana Maria Cuervo and Jan Vijg. The people I have trained at Einstein have made me wiser and my research could not have progressed without them. Among many trainees, I am particularly proud of Sofiya Milman, who is now advancing the SuperAgers studies; and Derek Huffman, who is advancing discoveries in models of aging. Together with Zhengdong Zhang, Fernando Macian, Rajath Singh, Dengshong Cai, and others, they are the future leaders of the institute and I know our pending health span is in good hands.
I am also indebted to the American Federation of Aging Research (AFAR), which provided me with research funding in the very early stages of my career. AFAR is an exemplary nonprofit organization that leads current efforts in assuring the development of the therapeutic pipeline by funding aging research and is overseeing the funding and operation of TAME. I thank my AFAR colleagues, Stephanie Lederman, Odette van der Willik, and the board members and staff of AFAR.
Through my work and involvement with AFAR, other leaders who joined with me to spread the message of geroscience and became my friends during the journey include Steven Austed, James Kirkland, Anrzej Bartke, Tom Kirkwood, Jay Olshansky, Brian Kennedy, Rafa de Cabo, Yap Seng Chong, Judy Campisi, Joan Mannick, Vera Gorbunova, Steve Horvath, Morgan Levine, Arlan Richardson, Peter Rabinovitch, Andrei Gudkov, Tom Rando, Tony Wyss-Coray, Laura Niedernhofer, Paul Robbins, Tom Perls, Paola Sebastiani, Luigi Ferrucci, Rafa de Cabo, and other members of the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence, the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, and the Dorot Foundation.
AFAR also coordinates the TAME effort led by bunch of scientists that spent a lot of time that was not funded. I am most indebted to Steve Kritchevsky, Mark Espeland, and Jaimie Justice, who did so much heavy lifting, and the other members of our executive committee, Vanita Aroda, George Kuchel, and Judy Bahnson. There are fourteen centers for TAME led by distinct leaders: Thomas Gill, Beth Lewis, Claudine George, Marco Pahor, Hermes Florez, Anne Newman, Rina Wing, Larry Apple, Karen Margolis, and Mary McDermott. Thank you all for volunteering your time to make a template for this and other studies. Your efforts will prove our geroscience concepts, will probably save trillions of dollars in medical costs, and will change our lives.
My work has also taken me outside of the field of science and, as a result, I have made many new friends who have been very influential and supportive. Sami Sagol, who financially supports academic research and companies focusing on health span and encourages his network to support them, too, is determined to stay young and promised to give my eulogy, although he is more than a decade older than me. Jim Mellon is inspiring the field and has become a friend, a partner for many activities, and someone whose advice I value. Jamie Metzl is a Renaissance man, an adviser, a believer, and a very dear friend. Sergey Young and James Peyer are devoted to TAME and bring a wealth of knowledge and insight. Albion Fitzgerald is a unique and outstanding angel who has led CohBar steadfastly. My life also is enriched by my interactions with Mehmood Khan, David Setboun, Mark Collins, Tristan Edwards, Tom Kahn, Ron Kahn, Gabi Barbash, Zan Alexander, Peter Attia, Ilia Stambler, Tina Woods, and Oren Vanek.
The actual writing of this book involved several dedicated professionals. I am grateful to my literary agent, Melissa Flashman at Janklow & Nesbit Associates, for opening the door for this opportunity and teaching me the publishing ropes and to my editor, Elizabeth Beier, and assistant editor Hannah Phillips at St. Martin’s Press for their editorial insight and guidance. But, most of all, I am indebted to my coauthor, Toni Robino and my editor, Doug Wagner of Windword Literary Services. Many people ask how this book came to be, given that English is not my first language and my written words often show that. Toni read and listened to my words and then “translated” them into what you see on these pages and Doug had our backs on every page. I could not have done this without them. They worked tirelessly while being so kind and flexible and making this journey a pleasure every step of the way.