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On Beyond Longevity, Corinne Briaud Manon discusses women’s healthspan through the lenses of science, consumer trust and commercial execution, drawing on her experience in major corporates and her work across Green Marlin, which advises health and longevity startups, and LongHER, a women’s healthspan community platform. She explains how the two initiatives connect, including how startups can test their propositions with real consumers, and outlines common early-stage pitfalls such as focusing too much on technical detail and not enough on real consumer need, lacking competitive awareness and structure, and letting passion override business discipline. The conversation explores what “science-backed” should really mean, why longevity is currently a kind of wild west with real credibility risks, and why women’s health needs to become a serious business if it is to address historic underinvestment. Corinne emphasises the importance of getting the basics right first for women, including basic health assessments, body composition, sleep, movement, strength and social connection, rather than spending blindly on superficial solutions. She also points out that access remains skewed towards the privileged and that prevention will need to be properly incentivised if it is to reach the masses. Instagram: @‌longher_collective https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinne-briaud-manon/ 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:38 Two Ventures Overview 02:43 Ecosystem Linking Both 04:17 How Longher Helps Startups 06:20 Green Marlin Origin Story 07:39 Startup Gaps and Fixes 11:48 Passion Versus Business 13:00 Spotting Real Innovation 14:44 Authenticity in Longevity Clinics 16:53 From Lab to Market 18:53 What Science Backed Means 20:56 Longevity Wild West 24:09 Why Womens Health Must Scale 28:01 Workplace Healthspan Shift 28:30 Workplace Health Costs 29:19 Menopause Support Programs 30:57 Women Led Health Startups 32:09 Beauty Versus Longevity Hype 33:54 Muscle Health Foundations 35:29 Where To Begin Basics 39:17 Stop Wasting On Superficial 41:14 Longevity Access Inequality 45:19 Prevention Model Shift 50:02 Future Of Longevity Trust 51:49 Rapid Fire Takeaways 55:32 Closing Reflections

Professor Lorna Harries has spent more than two decades studying why cells age and what might be done about it. In this episode, she explains one of the most overlooked mechanisms in ageing biology, RNA splicing. When cells lose control of this process, they become stressed, dysfunctional and can tip into senescence, a state that contributes to ageing across almost every organ system. She explains what senescent cells actually do, how the signals they release can spread damage from one tissue to another, and why calling them “zombie cells” does not come close to telling the full story. We talk about the possibility of intervening before cells reach an irreversible state, why targeting the biology of ageing itself may matter more than tackling diseases one at a time, and what meaningful rejuvenation should really look like. Prof Lorna also discusses the challenge of turning lab science into therapies through her spin-out SENISCA, her work with L’Oréal, and why conditions such as IPF are an important place to begin. Along the way, she addresses the tougher questions too, including how longevity science moves from promise to treatment, where the field risks drifting into hype, and whether these advances will be available to the many or only the few. Links: http://www.senisca/ http://www.iscarna.com/ https://teamrna.wixsite.com/harrieslab https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/1873-lorna-harries Innovate UK ICURe Programme https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/programme/icure/ 00:00 Podcast Intro Guest Setup 01:50 Meet Professor Harris Basics 02:16 DNA RNA Explained 03:38 RNA Splicing And Ageing 05:48 What Senescent Cells Do 07:38 Reversing Senescence Window 09:01 Fat Tissue And Faster Ageing 11:01 Splicing As Central Hallmark 12:11 Rejuvenation Discovery Story 13:52 From Lab To Spinout Company 16:41 Translating Science To Products 19:17 Therapy Targets IPF And Beyond 21:45 Why Translation Often Fails 23:19 Defining Real Rejuvenation 25:14 Avoiding Hype In Longevity 27:17 Who Is Lagging Behind 27:37 Regulatory Mindset Shift 28:47 Trials Built for Ageing 29:28 Scepticism and Overhype 31:25 Is Ageing a Disease 32:49 Policy and Demographic Timebomb 33:48 Advocacy and Communication 35:24 Personal Ageing Habits 36:24 Key Unasked Questions 39:15 Longevity for the Rich 41:43 Access via NHS and Patents 45:06 Rapid Fire and Myths 49:05 Closing Reflections

Recorded at the 2026 VIVE conference in Los Angeles, this Beyond Longevity mini-series episode features Mark Zemel, co-founder and CEO of Retia Medical, discussing the company’s hemodynamic monitoring technology that turns continuous bedside physiological signals into real-time clinical insights for high-risk surgery and critical care. Marc explains Retia’s aim to detect early deterioration, guide diagnosis and therapy, and avoid the unreliability, invasiveness and complexity of older tools, noting deployment in 75 US hospitals and distribution via Medtronic, plus presence in 18 countries. He highlights FDA clearance for Argos Infinity enterprise software, which extends insights across the hospital and to clinicians’ phones and laptops, and shares a case where rapid detection of falling stroke volume revealed bleeding during AAA repair. The conversation covers workflow-first design, interoperability, cybersecurity, regulatory strategy, and a future path from ICU to broader wards and ultimately wearables for earlier intervention and preventative care. 00:00 Beyond Longevity Intro 00:44 Meet Mark Zeel 01:40 Rata Medical Mission 02:54 Argos Infinity Launch 03:58 Clinicians Want Real Time 05:19 Surgery Near Miss Story 07:20 Why Accuracy Matters 08:42 Why Algorithms Are Hard 10:08 From ICU To Wearables 12:20 Scaling Distribution Globally 13:22 Plug And Play Integration 15:22 Wearables And Data Overload 18:31 Alerts And Clinical Judgment 20:16 AI As Decision Support 21:56 US Versus Europe Markets 23:09 Wearables Beyond EMRs 23:57 Regulation And Cybersecurity 25:07 FDA And AI Pathways 26:50 Clinician Workflow Design 29:39 Bad Data From Friction 31:58 Open Ecosystems Future 33:25 Prevention And Longevity 35:46 Personal Why Wearables Matter 39:24 From ICU To Early Detection 41:44 Rapid Fire And Wrap

This week’s guest is Avivah Wittenberg-Cox. Avivah advises leaders on gender and generational balance, the future of work, and the longevity economy. She hosts the podcast 4-Quarter Lives, publishes the Substack Elderberries, and writes regularly for Forbes and Harvard Business Review. She is Visiting Faculty at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, co-directs the Longevity Leadership Programme at Católica Lisbon, and has given three TED Talks. In this episode, Avivah and Daphna explore how longer lives are reshaping work, business, and society. Avivah argues that longevity is not just a health story but a structural shift that is forcing organisations to rethink how they are built, how careers unfold, and how different generations work together. She explains why the old pyramid model of the workforce is giving way to a more square demographic reality, with far more balance between younger and older generations than most institutions were designed for. That shift brings real pressure, from pensions to healthcare, but also major opportunities for businesses willing to adapt. The conversation looks at why older workers are still too often overlooked, what businesses lose when they fail to value experience, and why age-inclusive thinking is becoming a strategic advantage rather than a social add-on. More broadly, the episode challenges outdated assumptions about ageing and asks what it would mean to build a society that treats longer lives as a source of possibility, not decline. This episode is a reminder that longevity is not only changing how long we live, but how we work, lead, learn, and contribute across the course of our lives. https://www.avivahwittenbergcox.com/ https://elderberries.substack.com https://elderberries.substack.com/podcast https://www.ted.com/search?q=Avivah+Wittenberg+Cox https://20-first.com/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/#61c5a38ebf19 00:00 Longevity Meets Work 02:06 Longevity Mega Trend 03:09 Institutions Lag Behind 05:37 From Gender To Age 07:39 Women And Longer Lives 10:08 Multi Stage Careers 11:26 Rethinking Education Midlife 15:29 Rebranding Old Age 17:54 Opportunity And Ageism 21:24 Fear Of Ageing And Happiness 25:37 Goldman Sachs And AI 27:17 Company First Mover Advantage 28:43 Who Is Leading The Way 29:52 Brands Embrace Pro Ageing 30:21 Longevity In Hospitality 31:12 Retirees As Consultants 31:56 Why Leaders Miss Demographics 35:29 Government Levers And Limits 38:34 The Square Society Shift 40:43 Measuring Longevity Readiness 43:25 Advice Four Quarter Lives 47:54 Designing A Four Quarter Life 53:22 Ageing Better Than Expected 54:46 Rapid Fire And Wrap Up

In this episode, Dr Jin-Xiong She, a scientist with more than 400 publications, over 20,000 citations, and more than $100 million in research funding, explains why he left the top tier of academic medicine to pursue something more urgent: finding better ways to detect decline early and protect healthspan before disease takes hold. He shares what nearly 100,000 NAD tests have uncovered and why he believes biomarker baselines could change the way we think about prevention. https://www.jinfiniti.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@ProfJinShe In this episode: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:47 From Genomics to Longevity 04:18 T1D TEDDY Study Breakthroughs 06:07 Leaving Academia for Impact 07:37 Healthspan Over Lifespan 10:09 TAO Test Act Optimise 13:20 Choosing Actionable Biomarkers 17:02 Why NAD Tops the List 21:45 NAD Decline and Key Drivers 25:21 Raising NAD Lifestyle vs Supplements 27:51 Athletes' Inflammation and Low NAD 31:54 Optimal NAD Range and Niacin Risks 37:28 SubQ Injections vs Oral NMN Data 41:42 Dosing and Cutting Useless Supplements 43:52 Access Economics and Policy Ideas 46:50 Industry Adoption and Big Names 47:59 Supplement Market Problems 50:17 Rapid Fire and Closing Takeaways 52:04 Final Summary and Goodbye

What does it take to turn longevity science into real-world policy? In this episode, Daphna speaks with Dr Ilia Stambler, historian of longevity, published author, Chair of the International Longevity Alliance (ILA), and Chief Science Officer and Chairman of Vetek (Seniority) Association, about why advocacy and ecosystem-building may be just as important as the science itself. Dr Stambler shares how the ILA has grown into a global network connecting 76 nonprofits across 66 countries, organising international conferences, and running the annual Longevity Day (1st October) and Longevity Month (October) campaigns. He points to concrete wins, including efforts to support the inclusion of ageing-related conditions in the ICD and the WHO's work programme. The conversation gets honest about the real barriers to progress. Dr Stambler argues the problem isn't convincing governments that ageing matters, it's getting them to treat it with urgency. Despite ageing representing one of the largest disease burdens globally, it remains chronically underfunded and deprioritised, in part because the research timelines required don't fit neatly into political cycles. He also reflects on the deeper intellectual questions underpinning the field: how to balance holism and reductionism, why historical perspective is essential for longevity researchers, and how the same patterns of enthusiasm, scepticism, and neglect have repeated across centuries of rejuvenation science. Looking ahead to 2030, Dr Stambler highlights the need for better public education, evidence-based criteria for evaluating interventions, and growing grassroots motivation, because ultimately, he believes, a longer and healthier life begins with wanting one. In This Episode: How the ILA operates across 66 countries and what it's achievedWhy governments acknowledge ageing but still fail to act on itThe long funding timelines longevity research demands — and why that's a political problemWhich countries are currently leading on longevity policyWhy solo science isn't enough and advocacy changes outcomesThe "Death Valley of ideas" and how to get research across itBalancing holism and reductionism in longevity scienceWhy the history of rejuvenation science keeps repeating itselfWhat meaningful success in this field actually looks like. Ilia Stambler, PhD Chairman and CSO. Vetek (Seniority) Association – The Movement for Longevity and Quality of Life, Israel http://www.longevityisrael.org/ Chairman. International Longevity Alliance (ILA) http://www.longevityalliance.org/ Fellow. Department of Science, Technology and Society, Bar-Ilan University, Israel https://sts.biu.ac.il/ Author. A History of Life-Extensionism in the Twentieth Century; Longevity Promotion: Multidisciplinary Perspectives; Healthy Longevity: Policies and Practices http://longevityhistory.com https://www.longevityhistory.com/about-the-author/ 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:28 Staler Background and Mission 03:18 What the ILA Does 04:04 Key Wins and Campaigns 05:25 Public Misconceptions 07:27 Getting Governments to Act 09:14 Funding Research Long Term 10:49 Education and Conferences 12:05 Which Countries Lead 15:22 Why Advocacy Beats Solo Science 17:38 Advocacy Success Stories 20:48 Breaking Longevity Silos 21:23 Holism vs Reductionism 22:28 Why History Matters 24:17 Death Valley of Ideas 25:49 Rejuvenation Patterns Repeat 27:42 Misunderstood Longevity History 29:22 Balance and Modesty 31:23 Measuring Real Success 34:59 Making Longevity Policy 36:09 Rapid Fire Takeaways 38:58 Final Wrap Up

In this episode, Daphna sits down with Elio, co-founder of LongevAI, a platform using artificial intelligence to help longevity clinics analyse biomarker data, streamline documentation, and build personalised client plans. With a background in computer science and a lifelong passion for health optimisation, Elio offers a grounded, honest perspective on what AI in longevity medicine can do today, and where the limits still lie. ______________ What We Cover • How LongevAI was founded and what problem it solves for longevity clinics • What it means to automate clinical documentation without removing the clinician from the process • How AI interprets biomarker data, and why speed and accuracy both play a role • The hallucination problem: what it is, why it happens, and how it is being managed • Data privacy, GDPR compliance, and anonymisation in clinical AI tools • The importance of human oversight, why the clinician must always approve before anything reaches the client • How AI and clinicians can learn from each other in a feedback loop • Wearable integration and the role of continuous vs snapshot data • Where AI in longevity is heading in two to five years, including gene therapy modelling and whole-cell simulation • Why younger people are beginning to engage with longevity, and what still holds them back About the Guest Elio is the co-founder of LongevAI, a software platform built for longevity clinics. He holds a double bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Information Science, and has been focused on health optimisation and AI since his teens. He co-founded LongevAI in December 2024 alongside Cosmina Druica, whom he met through a longevity meetup community in the Netherlands. 🔗 longevai.com Enjoyed this episode? Please subscribe, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share with anyone curious about the future of longevity medicine. Beyond Longevity is hosted by Daphna Stern · beyond-longevity.co.uk In this episode: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:52 Elio Background and Origins 04:01 What Lev AI Does 05:06 Automating Clinic Workflows 07:52 Speed vs Accuracy 11:45 Oversight and Patient Trust 12:57 Privacy and GDPR Security 13:56 How the Model Improves 15:06 Limits Data and Hallucinations 21:37 Training and Integrations 23:45 Personal Biomarker Walkthrough 28:34 Explaining LLMs to non-tech people 33:38 Future of AI and Longevity 35:32 Young People and Longevity 39:56 Rapid Fire Questions 43:45 Wrap Up and Key Takeaways

Dr Bradley Elliott — physiologist, university lecturer, and a trustee and Communications Lead at the British Society for Research on Ageing — joins host Daphna for a refreshingly honest conversation about what longevity science actually knows and what we still cannot explain. This episode cuts through the certainty. We talk about biomarkers and biological age, why many measurements may be tracking effects rather than causes, we discuss extracellular vesicles and the surprising limit of science. Dr Bradley discusses some of his papers and related research, and our conversation challenges much of the conventional wisdom in the longevity space. What we cover: -Why we still do not know what fundamentally causes ageing — and why every “root cause” often leads to something deeper -What biomarkers really measure, what they can and cannot tell you, and which markers are most worth tracking right now -Biological age vs chronological age: where the concept is useful, and where it gets overclaimed -Why muscle is one of the most underrated “health organs” in ageing — and what it supports beyond strength -Exercise for longevity: the evidence-based basics, plus what matters most for consistency and adherence -“It is not too late”: what studies in very old adults suggest about strength gains later in life -Extracellular vesicles: the hidden communication system between cells, and why it is getting so much attention -Wearables: why they can still be useful even when the numbers are not perfectly accurate This is a fascinating episode with someone who knows how to communicate science and make it relatable Links to Dr Bradley Elliot: - https://www.westminster.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/directory/elliott-bradley - https://bsra.org.uk/bradley-elliott-2/ - https://www.bradelliott.online/ Papers & Research Referenced• Perri et al. (2025) — Delphi review identifying 14 biomarkers of ageing for use in human research (co-authored by Dr Elliott) ' https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39708300/ • Lady V Barrios-Silva et al. — Activin subfamily peptides and prediction of age and physical function (undergraduate-led research, University of Westminster) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30178598/ • Dr Yvoni Kyriakidou (PhD) — Exercise-induced muscle damage in young and old men; extracellular vesicle characterisation post-exercise https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34650440/ • Dr Niharika Duggal (University of Birmingham) — Masters athletes and immune function; older athletes vs. age-matched non-athletes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29517845/ • Stephen Harridge (King's College London) — Resistance training in 90+ year olds; gains in muscle strength and mass in the oldest old https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10398199/ • Science paper on genetic contribution to longevity — updated estimate shifting genetic contribution to ~50% (noted with editorial by Dr Elliott) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz1187 https://theconversation.com/what-new-twins-study-reveals-about-genes-environment-and-longevity-274763 https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/ If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love it if you took 60 seconds to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people find the show and means we can keep bringing you honest, science-backed conversations like this one. Thank you https://beyond-longevity.co.uk/ Chapters: 00:00 Why We Age 01:52 Meet Bradley Elliot 03:07 From Sports Science 05:32 Defining Ageing 07:03 Mechanisms And Theories 09:29 Biomarkers Explained 13:02 Delphi Biomarker List 16:59 Myostatin Study Story 21:25 Actionable Biomarkers 26:07 Wearables And Accuracy 27:38 Endocrine Fingerprints 30:11 Muscle And Healthy Ageing 33:21 Athletes And Immunity 34:26 Muscle Mass And Healthspan 36:36 Exercise Dose Guidelines 39:42 Resistance Training Plateau 40:42 Lifestyle Versus Genetics 42:42 Muscle Damage Study 44:44 Extracellular Vesicles Explained 46:49 Young Blood Controversy 50:08 Dream Research With Omics 56:55 What People Misjudge 58:43 It’s Never Too Late 01:02:41 Rapid Fire And Wrap 01:04:31 Final Takeaways

In this episode, I sit down with Dr Brendan Khong, a London-based aesthetic physician and regenerative medicine advocate, for a practical conversation about what it really means to age well, starting with the skin, but quickly expanding into whole-body biology. The central theme is a shift now reshaping aesthetic medicine: moving away from surface-level fixes and toward addressing the underlying drivers of visible ageing. A key driver, Dr Brendan explains, is inflammaging, a chronic, low-grade inflammation that builds over time and accelerates both skin ageing and broader physiological decline. He breaks down why some conventional aesthetic approaches can backfire, particularly repeated high-heat energy treatments, which may contribute to fibrosis, uneven pigmentation, and a dull, “waxy” skin texture over time. His approach favours smarter, gentler interventions, including an anti-inflammatory 1064nm Nd:YAG laser, targeted resurfacing that can be safer across a wider range of skin types, and calming injectables such as Meso-Wharton (a peptide product derived from Wharton’s jelly) used in practice to support skin quality, texture and fine lines. But this is not just a conversation about devices and injectables. Dr Brendan argues that better results start with better assessment and the need to factor in gut health, supplement use, stress load, and cortisol patterns before reaching for a needle or a laser. He is also candid about timelines: collagen remodelling takes time, and unrealistic expectations are one of the biggest problems in aesthetics. For day-to-day longevity habits that support skin health, he highlights fundamentals that are often overlooked: exercise, stress management, avoiding very hot showers, and finding a retinoid your skin can consistently tolerate. Dr Brendan Khong | London's Most Sought-after Aesthetic Doctor Dr Brendan Khong (@drbrendankhong) • Instagram profile 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:06 Brandon’s Medical Journey 03:36 Skin as an Inflammation Mirror 07:19 Supplements and Gut Health 10:15 Overtreatment and Inflammaging 14:47 Anti-Inflammatory Laser Approach 17:39 Regenerative Injectables Peptides 21:36 Personalised Protocols and Expectations 25:18 Why Glanine Stands Out 25:57 Microspheres Not Clumps 26:55 Anti-Inflammatory Collagen 27:47 Safety Profile Focus 28:45 Building Patient Protocols 30:25 Longevity Over Quick Fixes 32:17 Future Of Aesthetics 33:41 Gentler Treatment Philosophy 34:49 Quantum Magnetic Resonance 36:18 Healthy Beauty Trends 37:25 Daily Longevity Skin Tips 40:10 Rapid Fire Longevity Qs 45:14 Final Takeaways And Wrap

What happens to your financial plan when you live to 100? Most pension systems were built around an ~80-year life expectancy. Much of today’s financial advice still follows a linear life-stage model. And many businesses have not yet reckoned with the fact that both their customers and their workforce are ageing in ways that will reshape everything. In this episode of Beyond Longevity, I am joined by Nadine Esposito, founder of Wellthspan Advisory and a senior risk management professional, to unpack why longer lifespans are not just a medical story — they are a planning and financial one, with major implications for strategy and society. Nadine’s path into longevity came not through medicine, but through risk, ESG, and a deep interest in the health–wealth connection. She introduces the concept of wealthspan planning: moving away from rigid life stages towards a model that accounts for career pivots, caregiving gaps, health shocks and the very real risk of outliving your money and any affordable care options. We cover The health–wealth connection — why “health is wealth” works both ways and how financial stress and poor health reinforce each other over a longer life What businesses need to wake up to — ageing customer bases are changing consumption patterns across housing, travel, mobility and services The workforce challenge — flexibility, lifelong learning, the rise of the “sandwich generation,” and why simply raising retirement age misses the point Risk in longevity startups — data security, AI-driven health apps, sensitive personal data, and income regulations (including EU AI Act transparency obligations around human–AI interaction) Longevity and inequality — why longer lives may widen the gap without smarte intervention and access Key takeaways Wealthspan planning replaces linear life-stage models with something far more dynamic and realistic The two-way link between health and finances means you cannot plan one without the other Businesses should start with a longevity maturity and gap assessment — and test whether products and services actually work for older customers Investors should ask harder questions about IT security, regulatory readiness and risk management — not only financial fundamentals Health and financial literacy, prevention, and employer/insurer incentives are among the highest-leverage policy priorities Links LinkedIn (Nadine): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-esposito-b1804415/ Wellthspan Advisory (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/wellthspan-advisory Website: https://www.wellthspanadvisory.com/ Longevity Readiness Diagnostic Tool: https://www.longevityreadinessdiagnostic.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadine.esposito_/ Beyond Longevity is hosted by Daphna. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe and listen at https://beyond-longevity.co.uk/listen Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Why Longer Lives Change Money 01:40 Nadine’s Path: From Risk & ESG to the Longevity Space 03:45 From Biohacking Curiosity to the Pension Reality Check 06:42 Wealthspan Planning: Where Health and Wealth Collide 08:42 De-Risking Longevity: Individuals, Employers, and Startups 11:25 Health Data & Cybersecurity Risks in Longevity Tech 17:54 AI in Health: What Users Should Know Before Sharing Data 21:17 Investor Checklist: Security, Regulation, and Risk Appetite 26:08 Longevity’s Business Impact: Aging Customers, Products, and Cities 30:04 Mobility, Social Connection & the Rising Cost of Aging 30:57 New “Life Events” After Retirement: Property, Divorce & Starting Businesses 32:45 The Aging Workforce: Lifelong Learning, Flex Work & Employee Resilience 34:22 Rethinking Retirement Age: Reskilling, Career Resets & Hiring Barriers 39:25 What Policy Should Change First? Financial + Health Literacy & Prevention 45:26 Will Longevity Widen Inequality? When Wealth Becomes Health 46:50 Personal Playbook: Healthspan Over Lifespan & Building Sustainable Habits 49:03 How Any Business Can Prepare: Longevity Maturity Checks & Accessibility 51:48 Key Takeaways + Rapid-Fire Q&A (Sleep, News, Fasting Myth) 58:09 Final Wrap: Longevity Is a Planning Topic (Money, Work, Risk)

What can a tiny worm tell us about human ageing, and could gut bacteria hold the key to a longer, healthier life? In this episode of Beyond Longevity, we sit down with Professor David Weinkove: Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA), Professor at Durham University, and Co-founder and CSO of Magnitude Biosciences. David's lab uses the short-lived nematode C. elegans to run fast, rigorous experiments looking for interventions that extend healthspan and lifespan, and the results are pointing in some surprising directions. We cover how Prof David moved from physics into experimental molecular biology, how his team discovered that bacterial strains and metabolites can dramatically alter how long worms stay active, and what inhibiting bacterial folate synthesis reveals about the biology of ageing. He also explains how worm movement is a practical proxy for healthspan and why that matters for scaling up research. The conversation gets into the thornier questions, too: when do you need mice, and when might you skip straight to human-relevant models? How do you fund prevention research when the payoff is decades away? And what are the real risks of mandatory folic acid flour fortification, a policy Prof David argues deserves more scrutiny, given potential microbiome effects we don't yet fully understand. Prof David also unpacks what the BSRA does day-to-day: from connecting researchers and lobbying government to running small grants and building bridges with clinicians and industry, and why he thinks the longevity field's biggest enemy isn't scepticism, it's overpromising. Plus, we discover the most extreme longevity idea he's ever come across (involving spare parts — we'll leave it there). Links: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/david-weinkove/ Home - Magnitude Biosciences HOME PAGE - BSRA https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-weinkove-bab807b In this episode: 00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Meet Prof. David Weinkove 02:40 From Physics to Bioscience: Career Origins & Model Organisms 04:29 The Breakthrough: How Bacteria (and Folate) Can Extend Worm Lifespan 09:12 Measuring Healthspan in C. elegans: Movement, Decline & New Tech 10:38 Why C. elegans? Fast Ageing, Whole-Organism Biology & Screening Power 12:19 Worms vs Mice: Similarity to Humans, Ethics, Cost & Experimental Variability 15:35 Translating Worm Findings to Humans: Microbiome Links, Exercise Paper & Next Steps 17:52 Funding the Science: UKRI, MRC vs BBSRC, and the Reality of Grant Constraints 20:52 Why Longevity Research Struggles for Support: Messaging, Hype & Prevention 28:39 BSRA’s Mission & the Five Pillars: Public Engagement, Advocacy, Fundraising, Translation 32:01 Breaking Down Silos: Making Longevity Research Useful (and Public) 34:07 Prevention Mindset: Why “Healthier for Longer” Isn’t Instant Gratification 36:15 When to Start Interventions: Metformin, Timing, and Trial Design Challenges 39:39 Why Magnitude Bioscience Exists: Fast Whole-Organism Ageing Screens 41:12 What Companies Test in Worms: From Candidate Drugs to 1,000-Compound Screens 42:48 Folic Acid Fortification & the Microbiome: A Potential Unintended Consequence 45:55 Should Government Engineer Health? Autonomy, Risk, and Public Policy Trade-offs 52:37 Ageing Demographics & the Case for Prevention-First Healthcare Investment 55:59 Making Longevity Matter to Everyday People + Rapid-Fire Q&A 01:01:47 Final Takeaways, Thanks, and Episode Wrap-Up

What if the conditions we treat in our fifties and sixties which were set in motion decades earlier, would have been spotted, and shifted, far sooner? In this episode of Beyond Longevity, I sit down with Dr Mayoni Gooneratne, Founder and Medical Director of Human Health and Skin Fit Clinics, and Vice President of the British College of Functional Medicine. After years as an NHS colorectal and pelvic floor surgeon treating advanced disease, she made a decisive pivot into functional and preventative medicine with a sharp focus on women’s midlife health. Dr Mayoni is frank about what she sees as the fault lines in modern healthcare: too little time to truly listen, a default toward symptom management over root-cause thinking, and a system designed to meet patients at crisis point rather than upstream. Her own definition of “good medicine” is different: deeper connection, individualised biology, and practical tools that help patients protect their own healthspan. A major thread is perimenopause — why it is still under-recognised in conventional medicine and, surprisingly, even in the longevity conversation. She links this to the long-standing marginalisation of women in medical research, and the real-world consequences that follow. Her solution starts with “body literacy”: tracking patterns, paying attention to symptoms, using health data intelligently, and becoming an active participant in care and not simply waiting for a label. We get into the specifics of her clinical approach: detailed history-taking and questionnaires, then targeted testing to confirm or disprove a hypothesis. She explains how she uses broad blood marker panels, aiming for optimal, not just “normal” ranges, stool testing to assess gut function, and nutrigenomics to understand how someone interacts with their environment. For anyone sceptical about functional medicine’s reputation for over-testing, her line is clear: testing should have a reason and early markers (like homocysteine and methylation issues) are worth catching before they become disease. Her framework comes through in a powerful case study of a woman in her mid-forties post breast cancer treatment. The plan combined structured nutrition changes, Pilates to support bone health, and journaling to work through stored stress and anger, with measurable improvements in sleep and HRV. Practical advice runs throughout: build a simple morning routine, prioritise nourishing food, choose “joyful movement” over punishment, reduce blue light and phone use at night, and rebuild real-world community. She also shares what she believes conventional medicine needs more of: stronger grounding in biochemistry and physiology, better nutrition education, and a far more serious commitment to women’s health. Beyond the clinic, Dr Mayoni is also building infrastructure for the field. Through Human Health Professionals, she trains and mentors clinic owners to deliver longevity and wellness services responsibly. She also leads the Future Patient Congress and publishes Future Patient, quarterly, evidence-based resources magazine, designed to make current research more accessible and usable for clinicians and practitioners. In the rapid-fire round: her single most important longevity adjustment, what she wishes she had known before leaving surgery, and what it really means to extend healthspan - not just lifespan. BCFM College of Functional MedicineHuman Health™ by The Clinic | Functional Medicine in London The Clinic by Dr Mayoni - Integrative Skin Care Clinic in London Redefine Healthgevity and Metabolic Wellness | Human Health Professionals Future-proofing patients’ health - Future Patient 00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Meet Dr. Mayoni Gooneratne 00:45 From NHS Surgery to Prevention: Why Patients Reach Crisis Point 06:01 What “Good Medicine” Looks Like: Time, Listening, and Healing Space 10:47 Why Perimenopause Is Still Overlooked (and Why It Matters for Longevity) 12:36 Body Literacy & Wearables: Turning Symptoms into Useful Data 14:47 Gaslighting, Doctor Google, and Empowering Women to Self-Advocate 17:39 Longevity Isn’t Just for Biohackers: Women’s Health as a Public Health Priority 20:42 Testing in Functional Medicine: History First, Then Blood, Gut & Nutrigenomics 24:16 “Too Much Testing?” Early Warning Markers, Methylation, and Going Upstream 26:43 Clinical Framework: How to Prioritise Systems When Everything Feels Off 29:22 The ‘House’ Analogy: Gut Foundations, Immune Roof, Stress Storms & Routines 32:45 Case Study: Post–Breast Cancer Optimisation—Metabolic Health, Protein, and Nervous System Reset 36:16 Healing Stored Anger: A Patient’s Nervous System Breakthrough 38:49 Perimenopause 101: Recognising the Early Signs & Symptoms 39:53 Food, Movement, Sleep: The Core Lifestyle Reset (Without Punishment) 42:10 Relationships, Boundaries & Reducing Toxic Inputs 45:18 Five Simple Longevity Adjustments: Morning Routine, Nutrition, Phone, Community 48:47 What Conventional Medicine Could Change Now (Nutrition + Women’s Health Education) 51:23 Why She Left Surgery: The Wake-Up Call on Reactive Healthcare 56:09 Building New Systems: Human Health, Future Patient Congress & Magazine 57:47 Training Clinicians: N=1 Medicine, Critical Appraisal & Practical Protocols 01:06:22 Rapid-Fire Longevity Q&A + Final Takeaways on Healthspan

In this episode of Beyond Longevity, I am joined by Dr Angus Perry, a practising GP, clinical AI builder, and performance-medicine enthusiast with experience supporting Formula One teams and elite athletes. Dr Angus is focused on closing the gap between what preventive medicine can achieve and what is realistic inside a ten-minute GP appointment. He shares the path that led him here: a childhood ambition to become a GP, an early pull toward technology, and a personal family experience with chronic disease that clarified why the current model is failing both clinicians and patients. We talk candidly about GP burnout, time pressure, and why meaningful lifestyle support is so hard to deliver at scale. Two data points frame his urgency: -The Lancet Standing Commission’s 2024 report estimates that around 45% of dementia cases are potentially preventable by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors across the life course. -A 2018 JAMA Network Open cohort study of 122,007 adults undergoing treadmill testing found cardiorespiratory fitness was inversely associated with long-term all-cause mortality, with a median follow-up of 8.4 years and no observed “upper limit” of benefit. Dr Angus then walks through the two-part platform he is building: A clinician-facing tool that helps generate chronic disease and preventive-care plans (including areas such as diabetes, hypertension, and dementia prevention). -A patient-facing app designed around daily check-ins, habit tracking, nudges, milestones, and adherence dashboards — aiming to “close the accountability loop” between appointments giving clinicians the data they need and whilst keeping patients genuinely engaged with their own health in-between appointments We also dig into what responsible clinical AI looks like in practice: hallucination risk, governance, compliance, and the line between augmentation and undermining the clinician–patient relationship. And we explore whether tools used in elite sport (including dynamometry for strength and fatigability) could become more relevant in ageing and sarcopenia care — including for patients using GLP-1 medications. Dr Angus is clear about where things stand today: the app has had a very promising soft launch, clinician feedback driving iteration, early NHS pilot conversations, and outcomes data still being gathered. The episode closes with a sober assessment of where healthcare may be heading without greater patient empowerment — and a reminder that many of the biggest longevity gains are still driven by environment and lifestyle, not expensive interventions. Rapid-fire highlights: why passion beats rigid planning, the single habit he prioritises most (sleep), what he would have done if medicine had not worked out, and why a simple daily gratitude practice can have outsized downstream effects. Links: Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing GeneralPractice.AI | Healthcare Dr. Angus Perry - PAP - Pioneered Athlete Performance https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dr-angus-perry-b49918128 In this episode: 00:00 — Welcome + introducing Dr Angus Perry, GP and clinical AI builder 01:39 — Origin story: why general practice, early tech roots, and high-performance medicine 03:26 — Why standard GP wasn't enough: chronic disease, system limits, and burnout 05:12 — The personal wake-up call: family experience and lifestyle-driven disease 08:55 — From experiments to product: early LLM tools and the lifestyle research that changed everything 10:52 — The evidence for prevention: dementia risk, fitness and mortality 13:12 — Introducing the platform: clinician tool and patient app for behaviour change 14:07 — Patient activation and empowerment: making people the CEO of their own health 15:57 — How the app works: risk factors, activation scoring, check-ins, and accountability loops 19:26 — Early launch feedback, adoption questions, and the road to NHS pilots 21:05 — What's next: AI agents, EHR integration, and removing workflow friction 22:56 — Clinician concerns about AI: augmentation vs replacement, and can AI extend healthspan? 25:08 — ChatGPT for health: useful, but the doctor–patient bond still matters 26:03 — What responsible AI means in healthcare: governance, risk, and regulation 27:38 — Does technology change how he practises as a GP? 28:20 — From Formula One to primary care: treating patients like elite athletes 31:40 — Performance technology that could reach clinics: muscle testing and the realities of G-force data 33:25 — Dynamometry explained: measuring strength, imbalances, and fatigability 35:41 — Why muscle mass is a longevity cornerstone — and how it declines 38:01 — Where GP and preventive medicine are headed in five years 40:08 — Is longevity medicine only for the wealthy? The 70/15/5 reality 43:28 — Rapid-fire advice and final takeaways on making innovation practical

Welcome to Beyond Longevity, the podcast that decodes the future of ageing, one conversation at a time. Join host Daphna Stern as she introduces a new podcast exploring the cutting edge of longevity science. Through conversations with leading researchers, clinicians, and innovators, Beyond Longevity unpacks the evidence behind living longer and healthier lives. Beyond Longevity is a deep-dive podcast exploring the cutting edge of longevity science. Each episode features insightful discussions with leading experts who share their latest findings, innovative studies, and practical applications to enhance our approach to longevity. The show translates complex research into clear, thoughtful discussions, decoding the future of ageing one conversation at a time. Don't miss future episodes! Follow or subscribe to Beyond Longevity on your preferred podcast player: Join us in advancing the conversation around ageing. Let's redefine what it means to live longer, healthier 00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity: A Podcast About Healthspan 00:13 Beauty in Science: Why Longevity Research Matters Now 00:27 Meet Your Host Daphna Stern & the Mission Behind the Show 00:55 Where Biology Meets Technology: Inside the Longevity Revolution 01:05 Who We Talk To: Pioneers Rewriting What It Means to Age 01:20 From Sci‑Fi to Boom Times: Longevity Goes Mainstream 01:46 Subscribe & Join the Movement: Redefining Longer, Healthier Lives 02:00 Final Invitation: Understanding the Future, One Conversation at a Time cb448dac319f1856057ff99a3ebc0166eb850b84 KiDzUEabRNT1ahgeV5Ej