Aging Initiative at Harvard

We can't replace an aging brain, which makes the work happening in this field all the more important. If you’re in Boston and into longevity, the Neuroscience of Vitality and Aging (NOVA) conference on April 25 is worth your time. Among the organizers: Satvik Dasariraju @satvik_93, president of the Aging Initiative @aginginit, and Avery Mizrahi, both Norn Nexus members. The speaker lineup runs from foundational science to clinical development to policy, with Jean Hébert @Replacing_Aging from ARPA-H, Ed Boyden @eboyden3 from MIT, @age1vc GP Alex Colville @AlexJColville, Dennis Selkoe from Harvard, and John Sims from Eli Lilly who leads donanemab. Register in the link below.

Interested in clinical care & frailty in aging? Join the Aging Initiative on April 10, 6–7 PM for a talk by Dr. Dae Hyun Kim, Harvard med physician-scientist advancing frailty-based care and improving outcomes for older adults.

Fireside chat with Ankit Gupta (@agupta), @ycombinator General Partner & @Harvard alum, former cofounder of @reverielabs and Head of AI at @Ginkgo. He’ll share insights on venture capital, ML, life sciences, and his experience at Harvard! Next monday @ 5:15 PM.

Sign up here! luma.com/lls87eo8

@doclattermann Sign up now! luma.com/kb5j2ce5

Join us on February 28th for the Osteoarthritis Surgical Innovation and Science (OASIS) Symposium to hear from leading figures in osteoarthritis research, treatment, and biotechnology!

@doclattermann We are proud to announce a new speaker: Dr. Christian Lattermann @doclattermann, President of the International Cartilage Repair and Joint Restoration Society and Director of Research at Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine.

Register now here - spots are limited and filling fast: luma.com/6sbgpldh

Speaker event with genomics and metabolic disease expert Professor Melina Claussnitzer on 2/26/2026, 4-5pm! Learn how big data and human genetics fuels discovery of new targets for obesity, diabetes, and other population-scale cardiometabolic diseases.

Super excited to share that the @aginginit is hosting an event focused on osteoarthritis biology, surgery, and therapeutics. Despite almost 1B people projected to have OA by 2050, there are no approved disease-modifying therapies, pointing to the pressing need and opportunity for innovation. Registrations have just opened! luma.com/kb5j2ce5

Thank you again to Dr Bhasin and the Boston Pepper Center for helping move this field forward!

We recently hosted Dr. Shalender Bhasin for a workshop on clinical trials for function-promoting medicines. Key ideas included targeting real mobility issues, using patient-reported outcomes, pairing drugs with functional exercise, and using actigraphy to track daily gains.

Last Thursday, our COO and co-founder @eric_k_morgen , MD spoke at the Massachusetts State House, advocating for a fundamental shift in how we approach age-related disease. 80% of adults over 65 live with at least one chronic condition, driving over $500 billion in annual healthcare costs. But how do we translate advances in the science of longevity into treatments that improve quality of life for older adults living with multiple chronic diseases? At BioAge, we're answering this question by analyzing the world's most comprehensive human aging datasets—50+ million molecular data points spanning over 50 years—to identify therapeutic targets that address root causes of metabolic disease. Our advancing clinical programs, along with multiple pharma collaborations, demonstrate how human aging biology can inform drug discovery. Massachusetts —along with the other great states investing in innovation — has an opportunity to take the lead in aging biology research. State-level life sciences funding initiatives could accelerate the translation of aging science into therapeutics that extend healthy lifespan and reduce the burden of chronic disease. Grateful to the @aginginit and the MA Joint Committee on Aging and Independence for organizing this briefing and creating the space for science, policy, and patient impact to converge.

@eric_k_morgen @bioagelabs @RaianyRomanni @AFARorg We look forward to continuing our work to educate partners across all domains about the importance of aging biology research and biotechnology. From innovation, to community building, public support, and everything in between, we’re excited about the months ahead, stay tuned!

Many thanks to Dr. William Mair (Harvard), Dr. Eric Morgen @eric_k_morgen (@bioagelabs ), and Dr. Raiany Romanni @RaianyRomanni (@AFARorg / Amaranth) for joining us to share their insights with legislative offices.

Aging Initiative’s first ever Legislative Briefing on Aging Biology at the Massachusetts State House was a massive success!

For everyone who missed FAR 2025, here’s @neurajohn of @untillabs (Series A $58M) breaking down the future of organ preservation. youtu.be/I6kIXVIJOv4

There was no plan to solve aging. When @MartinBJensen arrived at the National Institute on Aging in 2010, he expected a roadmap, a strategy, and a coordinated effort to tackle it. There wasn't one. And 15 years later, the scale of that problem is clearer. The entire longevity field operates with around 2,000 researchers (fewer than what Coinbase or Zoom employ) generating at most half a dozen new medicines ideas each year, with no systematic approach or central coordination to turn aging research into medicine. @MartinBJensen walked through his journey at @aginginit's mixer, from that moment at the NIA to founding @NornGroup, because not having a plan makes it harder to win. The field needs visibility into what’s happening and what’s missing. Norn identifies the constraints, from idea generation to validation speed to coordination, then makes solutions happen.