Joining host Dr. Robert Hughes today on this inaugural episode of Translating Aging is our distinguished guest, Dr. Eric Verdin. Dr. Verdin is the president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where his research primarily focuses on the relationship between aging and the immune system, and how immune aging is regulated by nutrition. He is also a Professor of Medicine at UCSF.
Dr. Verdin begins by sharing his medical background, including his early research on HIV transcription and what drew him to the field of aging. He discusses NAD Metabolism, its connection to the regulation of sirtuins, and his research on why NAD levels decrease during aging, which has a deleterious effect on a variety of organs. Dr. Verdin answers questions about whether NAD supplementation could be helpful in fighting aging and disease, the emergence of startup companies in the Bay Area that are attempting to address aging directly, and the challenges of conducting research on aging when it is not yet defined as a disease. He talks about establishing the world’s first Center for Female Reproductive Longevity and Equality after being approached by Nicole Shanahan (wife of Sergey Brin) about the connection between early infertility and the aging process. In addition, Dr. Verdin explains why the link between health span and life span may be more connected than we think, whether we can ever reach a life expectancy of 115 years or more in humans, and why he believes this period in time will later be viewed as the birth of a whole new age of biology and health.
To learn more about Dr. Eric Verdin, the Buck Institute, and their cutting-edge research to help people live better longer, visit https://www.buckinstitute.org/ (BuckInstitute.org).
Episode Highlights:
Dr. Eric Verdin’s professional background, medical education and experience
Background in virology and evolution to field of aging
His work studying HIV transcription led to research on biology of aging
Most compelling questions facing aging research 
Molecular study of aging as a field is less than 30 years old
Number of hallmarks of aging seem to be happening independently of each other and we do not yet have a sense of the hierarchy of these hallmarks
Chronic inflammation is a key aspect of the aging process, but was not listed in that collection of hallmarks
Developing a better understanding of the different manifestations of aging and how they are related
Working on one aspect of aging influences the other
NAD Metabolism and its connection to the regulation of sirtuins 
Decrease in NAD levels with age has deleterious consequences on a variety of organs
Salvage pathway, CD38 Molecule, and PARP1 may play a role
Diseases that involve chronic DNA damage and NAD depletion offer insight
NAD supplementation to help fight against aging and disease
NAD precursors nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) have been shown to alleviate some of the complications associated with aging in animal models 
Questions about whether these supplements will be truly and rigorously tested to ensure efficacy
Emergence of other startups that are focusing on aging research has created a number of amazing opportunities for translation - studying the process in humans and molecular pathways in particular
Dr. Verdin has helped launch startup companies Napa Therapeutics and BHB Therapeutics
Challenge that aging itself is not recognized as disease and how this impacts the ability to conduct clinical research on it
Example of Unity Biotechnology, which targets cellular senescence
Alternative idea is to identify a series of novel indications that are clearly linked to aging, such as Frailty and Sarcopenia
Novartis demonstrated that pretreatment with rapamycin increased response to influenza vaccines
Reproductive senescence, and link between early infertility and aging
Nicole Shanahan has funded the Center for Female Reproductive Longevity and...