American Federation for Aging Research

03/06/2026

AFAR is pleased to share our Ask the Expert interview with Board Member Sergey Young, moderator of next week’s “Unpacking Biohacking” webinar and curator of our ongoing “Biotetch and Beyond” series. The interview sheds light on his inspiration as a longevity investor and thought leader, and his hopes for the future of geroscience.
Read the interview here: https://www.afar.org/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-sergey-young-on-his-experience-as-a-pioneering-longevity-investor-and-thought-leader-and-vision-for-the-future-of-gerosciencea
Learn more about our March 12 webinar here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p4aUka1cS6WFsmyyyPXCEg

03/05/2026

One WEEK AWAY: Join AFAR on Thursday, March 12th, from 12-1pm ET for a free on unpacking biohacking for longevity. Featuring 2025 AFAR Cristofalo winner Daniel W Belsky, PhD, developer of the DunedinPACE biological aging test and a Researcher and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Public Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center; Mark Kotter, PhD, Professor at the University of Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Founder of bit.bio; Helen Messier, PhD, MD, IFMCP, Chief Medical Officer of Bioscope.ai; and AFAR President Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, of Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center. Curated and moderated by AFAR board member Sergey Young of the BOLD Longevity Growth Fund.
Learn more & RSVP here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p4aUka1cS6WFsmyyyPXCEg

03/05/2026

On the Dan Buettner Podcast, AFAR Scientific Director Steven N. Austad, PhD, recently joined the Blue Zones founder for a lively conversation on the limits of human lifespan, exceptional longevity in animals, and more.
Watch here:

Can We Live to 150? Secrets of Longevity from the Animal Kingdom with Dr. Steve AustadIs aging a fixed biological certainty, or can it be manipulated? In thi...

03/04/2026

AFAR Grantees in the News: Cell recently published new research co-authored by Turan Aghayev, MD, PhD, and Saul Villeda, PhD, on a mechanism that may explain how exercise protects the brain.
Read the full paper here: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)00111-X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS009286742600111X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

03/04/2026

Recent research co-authored by AFAR grantees Turan Aghayev, MD, PhD, and Saul Villeda, PhD, on newly identified gene regulators that could possibly restore aging-related decline in tissue repair highlighted in a NIH Research Matters news piece.
Read here:

By altering levels of molecules called transcription factors in mice, researchers were able to reverse some of the effects of aging.

03/03/2026

AFAR is pleased to share our Ask the Expert interview with Mehmood Khan, MD, Chief Executive Officer of the Hevolution Foundation.
Part of a two-part series, the interview captures a conversation between Dr. Khan and Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, President of AFAR.
Read Dr. Khan’s insights in “Part I: Inspiration, Vision, and Momentum” here: https://www.afar.org/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-mehmood-khan-md-on-hevolution-foundations-inspiration-and-vision-for-healthy-aging

03/03/2026

Excited for the insights that AFAR President Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, of Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA, will bring to our free exploring the science, promise, and limits of biohacking for longevity. Join us on March 12th from 12-1pm ET.
Learn more & RSVP here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p4aUka1cS6WFsmyyyPXCEg

02/27/2026

Looking forward to insights from Helen Messier, PhD, MD, IFMCP, Chief Medical Officer of Bioscope.ai and Educator at The Institute for Functional Medicine, on practical, science-driven approaches to biohacking and personalized health.
Join us on March 12th from 12-1pm ET for this free .
Learn more & RSVP here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p4aUka1cS6WFsmyyyPXCEg

02/26/2026

TWO WEEKS AWAY: Join AFAR on Thursday, March 12th, from 12-1pm ET for a free to unpack biohacking for longevity. Featuring 2025 AFAR Cristofalo winner Daniel W Belsky, PhD, developer of the DunedinPACE biological aging test of Columbia Public Health; Mark Kotter, PhD, Founder of Bit.bio Helen Messier, PhD, MD, IFMCP, Chief Medical Officer of Bioscope.ai; and AFAR President Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD, of Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA. Moderated by AFAR board member Sergey Young of the BOLD Longevity Growth Fund.
Learn more & RSVP here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p4aUka1cS6WFsmyyyPXCEg

02/25/2026

Dan Buettner of Blue Zones shares an introduction to a new article published in The Gerontologist, co-authored by AFAR Scientific Director Steven N. Austad, PhD, assessing the validity of demographic data associated with Blue Zones.
This publication marks an important step in a broader scholarly effort examining Blue Zones. Additional papers co-authored by Dr. Austad and AFAR Irving S. Wright Award recipient S. Jay Olshansky are forthcoming.
Read the article here: https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/65/12/gnaf246/8381533?login=false

02/25/2026

Describing her 2025 Glenn Foundation Discovery Award, Elaine Fuchs, PhD, of The Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, shares: “My laboratory discovered that tissue stem cells have a way of cataloguing their lifelong experiences with stressful situations, including wounds and acute inflammation, which enables them to respond quicker and more robustly to future stress…We now want to address: What happens when our tissue stem cells acquire a life of experiences? Could this be a contributing factor to why our tissues lose fitness as we age? If so, what can we do to control the process of tissue memory?”
Learn more about her AFAR-supported research in our Grantee Spotlight Interview here: https://www.afar.org/grantee-spotlight-interviews/elaine-fuchs-phd

02/24/2026

AFAR is proud to announce that, for the fourth consecutive year, we have earned a perfect 100% from Charity Navigator, America’s largest and most utilized independent charity evaluator. This 4-star rating is achieved by less than one-tenth of one percent of charities and designates AFAR as an official “Give with Confidence” charity, indicating that our organization is using its donations effectively based on Charity Navigator’s criteria.
View AFAR’s Charity Navigator page, including the breakdown of the evaluated metrics here: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/133045282