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Unlocking the Secrets of Longevity: 20 Years of Centenarian Research at Einstein

On November 7, 2018, Nir Barzilai, M.D., the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair in Aging Research and director of Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Longevity Genes Project with a half-day research symposium. Launched by Dr. Barzilai at the cusp of the new millennium, the Longevity Genes Project has enrolled more than 600 centenarians, and later their children, in order to better understand the genetics of exceptional longevity and healthy aging.

“It’s remarkable what has changed in twenty years,” remarked Dr. Barzilai. “Genetics and the biology of aging were both in their infancy when we started.”

Dr. Barzilai welcomed the adult children of centenarians who have participated in the study, and explained the major discoveries of the past 20 years. In addition to Dr. Barzilai, Sofiya Milman, M.D., associate professor of medicine, spoke about the findings of the LonGenity study, which focuses on the children of the centenarians, and cardiologist Anna Bortnick, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, presented on new technologies that are keeping hearts healthier as they can harden due to aging. The focus of the ongoing work is to target aging as a health risk, to help both those with and without longevity gene mutations to live longer and healthier lives.