Longevity by Design

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Andrea Maier, Professor in Medicine and Director of the NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore’s School of Medicine. They explore what the evidence shows on supplements, and why “test, then treat” beats guesswork. Andrea unpacks a review of over 5 million people: multivitamins may sup...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Uri Alon, Professor at Weizmann Institute of Science. They explore a systems view of aging that treats longevity as a solvable model, not a grab bag of disconnected theories. Uri explains aging with a simple story: houses make garbage, trucks remove it, and the village has a threshold for how much damage it can handle....

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Paola Sebastiani, Professor of Biostatistics at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute. They explore what centenarians reveal about reaching 100, and why there’s no single longevity gene. Paola explains that studies keep finding many small genetic effects, which makes polygenic risk scores hard to use for p...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Terrie Moffitt, University Professor at Duke University. They explore the deep link between mental health, self-control, and the pace of biological aging, showing how early-life mental disorders can shape health decades later. Terrie describes her work with the decades-long Dunedin study, which tracks health from birth...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. David Allison, Director of the USDA Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Together, they examine what it takes to build public trust in nutrition and longevity science, and why clear, reproducible evidence matters more than ever. David highlights how public perception and scientific rigor...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Louise Hecker, Associate Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Together, they dive into Louise’s recent research exploring how psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, may influence aging biology at the cellular and organismal level. Louise shares the story behind her curiosity about psi...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Nathan Price, Professor and Co-Director at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Together, they explore how systems biology, artificial intelligence, and deep health data are changing the way we approach aging and prevention. Nathan explains why looking at single biomarkers falls short and why a network view of bio...

In this episode of Longevity by Design , host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Ronjon Nag, Adjunct Professor in Genetics at Stanford School of Medicine and President of the R42 Group, for a wide-ranging conversation on how artificial intelligence is reshaping health, medicine, and longevity science. Ronjon makes the case for systems thinking as a necessary framework for understanding aging, argu...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Wei-Wu, Executive Chairman at Human Longevity, Inc. Together, they explore how advances in genome sequencing, AI, and multi-layered diagnostics are changing the fight against age-related diseases. Wei-Wu shares why understanding your own genetic risks and combining them with other health data leads to better prevention...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dalia Blander and Eprihm Blander, his parents, who are thriving in their nineties. Gil explores the daily routines, food choices, and mindsets that have kept Dalia and Eprihm active, independent, and healthy well into later life. Dalia and Eprihm share how simple habits like regular movement, home-cooked meals, and a Medit...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Emeran Mayer, Executive Director at the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience and founder of Mayer Interconnected. They explore the science behind the gut-brain connection and its role in shaping health and longevity. Emeran explains how signals flow between the brain, gut, and microbiome, influencing e...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Albert-László Barabási, Professor at Northeastern University, to explore how networks shape health, aging, and nutrition. Barabási explains how biological and social networks influence resilience, robustness, and our ability to recover from stress or disease. He describes aging as a gradual loss of resilience, where th...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Kerry Burnight, Gerontologist, Chief Gerontologist, New York Times best-selling author, and researcher. They explore what it truly means to age well, focusing less on resisting the passage of time and more on embracing vitality, curiosity, and joy throughout life’s second half. Dr. Burnight explains why the common “dec...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, host Gil Blander sits down with Florence Comite, MD, physician-scientist and founder of the Comite Center for Precision Medicine & Healthy Longevity. They explore why a one-size-fits-all approach to longevity falls short and how personalized data, from biomarkers to genetics, can spot early signs of disease before symptoms appear. Florence explains her “...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, our host, Dr. Gil Blander, sits down with Dylan Livingston, CEO at the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, and Dr. Brenda Eap to explore how public policy shapes the future of aging research. Dylan and Brendan share how their team pushes for legislation that supports healthy lifespan extension, aiming to bring longevity science into the center of national he...

Aging is more than disease—it’s the steady decline of function. In this episode of Longevity by Design, Dr. Gil Blander speaks with physicist-turned-biotech innovator Dr. Peter Fedichev about why resilience, not diseases, holds the key to longer lives. Peter explains how his background in theoretical physics shaped his approach to biology and aging. He outlines why startups, not large institutions...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, Dr. Gil Blander welcomes Dr. Eric Verdin, President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Eric discusses the science behind therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and its potential to slow biological aging in humans. The conversation explores findings from a recent clinical trial, including measurable age reversal using epigenetic clocks. Eric expl...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Keith Diaz, Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, to unpack the hidden health risks of prolonged sitting. Keith explains why even daily exercise isn't enough to counteract the effects of sedentary behavior. Drawing on his lab's findings, he shares a simple but pow...

In this episode, Dr. Gil Blander welcomes Dr. Haim Cohen to Longevity by Design to explore his revolutionary approach to understanding aging. Haim's team analyzed acetylation sites across 107 mammalian species, creating its most extensive comparative study. This computational approach revealed specific post-translational modifications that evolved exclusively in long-lived animals. The resear...

On this episode of Longevity by Design, Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Karl Pfleger, aging biotechnology investor and creator of AgingBiotech.info, to dissect the rapidly evolving field of aging therapeutics. Karl breaks down the sector into two main categories: interventions that slow aging rates versus rejuvenation strategies that repair accumulated damage. Karl highlights the most promising...

Gil and Eric discuss Eric’s book, Super Agers, and the inspiration behind it: a 98-year-old patient who exemplified healthy aging. They explore the five dimensions of healthspan optimization: lifestyle, omics, the immune system, and the role of data and AI in personalized medicine. Eric highlights how AI can analyze multi-layered data to provide personalized recommendations for preventing age-rela...

In this episode of Longevity By Design, Dr. Layne Norton, Founder of BioLayne and Carbon app, joins Gil Blander to discuss optimizing nutrition and fitness for a longer, healthier life. Layne emphasizes the importance of prioritizing scientific evidence over popular narratives, highlighting how easily isolated studies can be misinterpreted. He stresses the power of personalized approaches to nutri...

On this episode of Longevity by Design, Dr. Gil Blander sits down with Dr. Evelyne Bischof, President of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society.  Evelyne discusses her background in internal medicine and oncology and how her work puzzling together patient diagnoses led her to the field of longevity medicine. She highlights the importance of optimizing health span, not just lifespan, and how health...

In this episode of Longevity by Design, our host, Dr. Gil Blander talks with Dr. Renee Deehan and Paul Fabian about Inside Tracker 's new Healthspan Habits Score feature. This innovative tool analyzes data from wearable devices and daily journal entries to identify the most impactful habit to improve each week for better health span and longevity. The guests explain how the algorithm processe...

Dr. Gil Blander welcomes Dr. Daniel Durand, Chief Medical Officer at Prenuvo, to Longevity by Design for a deep dive into the future of preventative healthcare. Dr. Durand shares how full-body MRI is redefining early detection by making advanced imaging accessible, non-invasive, and radiation-free. He explains why MRI, as a soft tissue imaging modality, offers unmatched insight into early-stage ca...