Aging 2008 Symposium at UCLA

Methuselah Foundation Announces Aging 2008 at UCLA

Have you ever dreamed of climbing Mt. Everest – on your 125th birthday?

Los Angeles, CA (May 19, 2008) On Friday June 27th, leading scientists and thinkers in stem cell research and regenerative medicine will gather in Los Angeles at UCLA for Aging 2008 to explain how their work can combat human aging, and the sociological implications of developing rejuvenation therapies.

Aging 2008 is free, with advance registration required at http://www.mfoundation.org/Aging2008/.

Dr. Aubrey de Grey, chairman and chief science officer of the Methuselah Foundation, said "Our organization has raised over $10 million to crack open the logjams in longevity science. With the two-armed strategy of direct investments into key research projects, and a competitive prize to spur on scientists racing to break rejuvenation and longevity records in lab mice, the Foundation is actively accelerating the drive toward a future free of age-related degeneration." The Methuselah Foundation has been covered by 60 Minutes, Popular Science, The Wall Street Journal, and other top-flight media outlets.

The State of California is a frontrunner in regenerative medicine and stem cell research. On November 2, 2004, more than seven million Californians voted to pass Proposition 71, establishing the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and allocating $3 billion over ten years to fund stem cell research. Proposition 71 was a rare instance of voters directly authorizing funding for scientific research.

The speakers at Aging 2008 will argue that the near-term consequences of intense research into regenerative medicine could be the development of therapies that extend healthy human life by decades, even if the therapies are applied in middle age. Peter Thiel, president of Clarium Capital, initial investor in Facebook, and lead sponsor of Aging 2008, said, "The time has come to challenge the inevitability of aging. This forum will provide an excellent opportunity to look at the scientific barriers that must be overcome to substantially extend healthy human life, as well as the ethical implications of doing so."

Aging 2008 also serves as the free opening session for the technically focused Understanding Aging Conference, which will run at UCLA on June 28th and 29th.

What: Aging: The Disease, The Cure, The Implications, hosted by Methuselah Foundation
When: Friday, June 27, 2008, Drinks 4pm, Presentations 5pm, Dinner 8pm
Where: Royce Hall, 405 Hilgard Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Who:

§ Dr. Bruce Ames, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UC Berkeley

§ G. Steven Burrill, Chairman of Pharmasset and Chairman of Campaign for Medical Research

§ Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Chairman and CSO of Methuselah Foundation and author of Ending Aging

§ Dr. William Haseltine, Chairman of Haseltine Global Health

§ Daniel Perry, Executive Director of Alliance for Aging Research

§ Bernard Siegel, Executive Director of Genetics Policy Institute

§ Dr. Gregory Stock, Director of Program on Medicine, Technology & Society at UCLA School of Medicine

§ Dr. Michael West, CEO of BioTime and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley

About Methuselah Foundation

The Methuselah Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to extending the healthy human lifespan. Founded in 2002 by entrepreneur David Gobel and gerontologist Dr. Aubrey de Grey, the Methuselah Foundation funds two major projects: the Mprize, a multimillion dollar research prize, and SENS, a detailed engineering plan to repair aging-related damage. Learn more at http://mfoundation.org.

Media Contact: Maria Entraigues, 310-242-3660, mailto:maria@mfoundation.org