Computational Aging

Now published in PNAS, check out my work from UCSF: Unsupervised pattern identification in spatial gene expression atlas reveals mouse brain regions beyond established ontology: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2319804121https://lnkd.in/dEB37EkQ

We combine stability-driven nonnegative matrix factorization with spatial correlation analysis to explore brain regions and ontology in 3D spatial gene expression profiles.

Our findings reveal a gene expression-defined anatomical ontology and interpretable region-specific genetic architecture captured by the marker genes and spatial co-expression networks in the mouse brain.

This shows the power of genomics + machine learning to create biological maps. As the datasets grow and the algorithms improve, I expect this kind of work will lead to a whole generation of medical breakthroughs.

Code available here: https://github.com/abbasilab/osNMFhttps://lnkd.in/dtymd4gC

Great collaboration with Yu Wang, R. Patrick Xian, Alex Lee in collaboration with the Allen Institute for Brain Science's Hongkui Zeng and Bosiljka Tasic and University of California, Berkeley's Bin Yu. Special thanks to Weill Neurohub and and Sandler Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research for funding our research.

Many of us are figuring out how to have max impact towards curing aging.

Where are we towards this goal? Generally, humanity has good tactics to live to 70-80 or so in a healthy way. At that point, diseases of age take over, including neurodegeneration, cancer, heart disease, aches and pains, frailty, and much more. There’s a long way to go.

What’s on the horizon? There are 100s/1000s of labs and 100s of companies working directly on aging. These will bring new ideas and medicines to approval. There are far more teams and companies working on enabling tech: genomics, AI, drug delivery, pharma. These will bring new tools to bear on the problem.

What should we do to have max impact in our lifetimes? My answer is to take a big swing on an exciting new technology (non-Yamanaka transcription factors for tissue-specific rejuvenation) and see where it goes. That’s what I’m doing at Junevity, putting all my professional effort and resources to make it happen.

A general answer is to put your time and money in this field, and see where it leads.

Longevity escape velocity is the idea that our life expectancy (and healthspan) increases faster than the passing of time.

Will this happen soon? The more time I have spent in the aging science field the more I am optimistic about our chances for this happening in the next few decades.

There are many tailwinds, and of course headwinds. There are three horizons of anti-aging therapies: horizon 1 are lifestyle improvements already available, horizon 2 are new repair therapies coming soon, and horizon 3 are cellular rejuvenation technologies in development.

AI/ML + big biological data means progress is now exponential. Already, AI/ML is becoming an equal partner in biological research. Soon, it will be the driver.

We are spending more than ever on R&D (2x growth in the U.S. in constant dollars from 2010 to 2021). We are rapidly growing our spend on general venture capital and biotech venture capital. Much of this investment will ultimately go towards helping people live longer and healthier. Our aging population will demand this.

What can we do to bring this future?

I believe it's mostly inevitable, but that we should work to speed it up. To make it happen faster, we need our first anti-aging drug wins. We need FDA approvals for safe, effective drugs that target diseases of aging. Even better, we need rejuvenation therapies (that's what we're working on at Junevity). We need people to see and feel the benefit in their grandparents, parents, and themselves. We need to look in the mirror and see it happening. We need to be inspired. This will drive even more money and talent to create even better rejuvenation therapies.

Stay healthy so you live long enough to participate in this fantastic future. Support R&D funding and startup/pharma development. Invest your time, money, and talent in horizons 1, 2, or 3.