lifespan odyssey

racing against time

THURSDAY | April 18th 2024

LIFESPAN ODYSSEY

Bial

Ever since time immemorial, many were the people who wanted to live forever.

Such a thing may never be possible, but as Biology and Medicine open our eyes to many organic mysteries, we begin to discover tools to regenerate and sustain the human body.

In order to really encompass this issue, we have brought together a panel of experts who employ different approaches, but share the same goal: to understand and overcome aging. This is a field where each step forward brings us closer to transcending the human horizon.

The module LIFESPAN ODYSSEY: FIGHTING MORTALITY aims to showcase efforts aimed at prolonging human life.

On the 18th of April we’ll welcome…

David Gems, PhD

Professor of Biogerontology at University College London

Co-founder and Research Director of the Institute for Healthy Aging at University College London

Prof. Gems is Professor of Biogerontology at University College London and co-founder and Research Director of the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing. He focuses mainly on insulin/IGF-1 signaling, and through his work, he has challenged many classical assumptions on the fundamental causes of aging, and helped change the paradigm from the oxidative damage theory of aging to instead the programmatic theory.

Molly M. Stevens, PhD

Professor of Bionanoscience at Oxford University

Researches Tissue Engineering and Diagnostic Methods

Dr. Stevens is Professor of Bionanoscience at Oxford University, Professor of Biomedic Materials and Regenerative Medicine as well as Research Director for Biomedical Materials Sciences at Imperial College London. Her team, the Stevens Group, has been revolutionising tissue engineering and cutting-edge diagnostic methods for years. She has been the recipient of numerous international recognitions, including the Karen Burt Memorial Award, the Rosalind Franklin Medal, the Corday-Morgan Medal, the Clemson Award, and others.

Marios Kyriazis, MD PhD

Physician and Biogerontologist

Anti-aging Researcher

Dr. Kyriazis is a Biomedical Gerontologist who is the Scientific Director of the National Gerontology Centre (Cyprus), an Independent Expert Assessor for the European Commission, and the author of numerous books and articles on anti-aging. He has developed research in almost all areas of healthy lifespan extension, including but not limited to carnosine, free radicals, apoptosis, and nutrition. He has founded the British Longevity Society and the ELPIs Foundation for Indefinite Lifespans, showcasing his commitment to unlocking the door to healthy aging.

Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, PhD

Head of the Climate Change Unit at WHO Headquarters

Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum is the Head of the Climate Change and Health Unit at WHO Headquarters. He has worked on this cause for over 20 years, playing key roles in the first quantitative estimates of the global health impacts of climate change, World Health Assembly resolutions, WHO Global Conferences, and the expansion of WHO’s Climate Change and Health Support to over 30 low and middle income countries.

Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum is the author of over 100 scientific articles, reports and book chapters, lead author of three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, and the first health report for the UN Climate Negotiations.

Moderator

Rúben Oliveira, MSc

Biologist, Ecologist, and Science Communicator

Rúben Sousa de Oliveira is a biologist, ecologist, and science communicator. He has a Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, and a post-graduation in Ecology and Environmental Management. He is a member of cE3c‘s Communication Office, the National Board for the League of Nature Protection (LPN), the Portuguese Society of Ecology (SPECO), where he coordinates the Network for Communication and Dissemination of Ecology, and the Portuguese Society of Etology (SPE). He is co-founder of the Science Festivals Pint of Science Portugal and FIC.A, as well as co-author of “Um Pouco Por Toda a Parte: A Ecologia no Século XXI”.

Scientific Committee

Sérgio Almeida, PhD

Director of the SAlmeida Lab at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon

BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Coimbra

PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Porto

Post-doctoral fellow from the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon

Isabel Gordo, PhD

Group Leader of Evolutionary Biology Research Group at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência

Member of The Committee of The PhD Program at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência

BSc in Physics from the Instituto Superior Técnico

PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Edinburgh

Former Deputy Director of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência