Team

Founders

David Gobel, co-founder and CEO. 

A philanthropist, serial entrepreneur, inventor and futurist, Gobel was one of the first people to publicly discuss the idea of longevity escape velocity, the hypothetical situation in which life expectancy is extended longer than the time that is passing.

Dane Gobel, co-founder

Gobel has held several roles with Methuselah Foundation, including operations director. He is currently  program director of the Deep Space Food Challenge. 

Executive Advisors

Gary Hudson, executive advisor

Hudson is executive chairman and co-founder of Oisín Biotechnologies, which is developing drugs to combat age-related diseases. He is also active in several non-profits focused on age-related disease.

Florina Linco, executive advisor

Linco has held several roles with Methuselah Foundation, from managing the Foundation’s social media, to directing communication for the New Organ Alliance, to managing communication for the Deep Space Food Challenge.

Keith Murphy, executive advisor

Murphy is co-founder and CEO of Viscient Biosciences, which seeks to dismantle medicine’s reliance on animal testing by manufacturing human tissue that can be used to accurately test new medical treatments. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Organovo, the first commercial bioprinting company. 

Sergio Ruiz, executive advisor

Ruiz is co-founder and COO of Turn Biotechnologies and co-founder and managing director of the Methuselah Fund. An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and investor, Ruiz has advised in the development of several mission-aligned biotechnologies, helping them to evolve from academic investigations to commercial enterprises.

Scientific Advisors

Luis Alvarez, scientific advisor

Alvarez is the director of Organ Manufacturing at United Therapeutics, where he is developing a novel bioprinting platform to manufacture transplantable human lungs. He previously oversaw preclinical and clinical development programs at the Department of Defense Regenerative Medicine Program Office.

Dr. Anthony Atala, scientific advisor

Atala is director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and chair of the Urology Department at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Scott Collins, scientific advisor

A serial entrepreneur, Collins is chief strategy officer of Austin Innovation Group, an innovation consulting firm; principal at ExecHQ, founding partner of TEXGHS Innovation Consortium and serves on several corporate boards.

Dr. Gabor Forgacs, scientific advisor

Forgacs is the co-founder and chief scientific officer of Fork & Goode, a company developing a new approach to growing food. He is also co-founder of Modern Meadow, which is researching ways to use bio-fabrication technology to produce animal products. He is also co-founder of Organovo, the first commercial bioprinting company.

Dr. Armand Keating, scientific advisor

Keating is director of the Cell Therapy Program at Princess Margaret Hospital at the Ontario Cancer Institute, and director of the Division of Hematology at the University of Toronto. 

Kevin Perrot, scientific advisor

Perrot is founder and CEO of OpenCures, a company using cutting-edge technology to measure health; co-founder and advisor to Oisín Biotechnologies, which is developing drugs to combat age-related diseases; co-founder and treasurer of SENS Research Foundation, and president of the Global Healthspan Policy Institute. 

Dr. Maria Rapoza, scientific advisor

Maria is the executive director of the Duke University Cardiovascular Research Center at the Duke University School of Medicine. She provides executive management for cardiovascular research within Duke.  

Reason, scientific advisor

Reason is co-founder and CEO of Repair Biotechnologies, a company focused on treating the cause of medical conditions resulting from accumulations of excess cholesterol in the body, and founder of FightAging.org, a longevity news provider.

Research Fellows

Maximus Peto, research fellow

Peto is director and editor-in-chief of Long Life Labs, a longevity research company. He also works with the Life Extension Foundation and the SENS Research Foundation.

Danielle Ruiz, research fellow

Ruiz, a fellow of geriatric medical research at the Foundation, is also the CEO, medical director and adult-gerontology nurse practitioner at Everest Health Partners.

 
 

Investments

 
 

LEUCADIA THERAPEUTICS

Investment: 2015

Leucadia Therapeutics is focused on curing Alzheimer’s disease. Most previous research has suggested that plaques and tangles in the brain cause Alzheimer’s disease. Leucadia’s research shows that the plaques and tangles result from a more serious, underlying condition. The company is developing a therapeutic device to restore cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow across the cribriform plate, to improve the clearance of toxic metabolites from the regions of the brain affected earliest by Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, click here.

METHUSELAH FUND

Investment: 2017

The Methuselah Fund – a subsidiary of Methuselah Foundation – invests in mission-critical startups. Its mission focus helps early-stage companies avoid compromising and pivoting away from our longevity mission, which commonly occurs when traditional venture capital funds pressure companies to prematurely achieve financial returns. The fund focuses on potential breakthrough biotech platforms that have completed their preliminary research and are poised to begin product development. For more information, click here.

OISIN TECHNOLOGIES

Investment: 2014

Oisín Biotechnologies is committed to showing that degenerative aging conditions can be improved through the safe removal of senescent cells – or cells that have stopped dividing. Cellular senescence is associated with cancer, aging and neurodegeneration. Oisín has a targeted approach to removing senescent cells without causing collateral damage or side effects. Mayo Clinic researchers used this technology to extend the life of mice by up to 35%. For more information, click here.

ONCOSENX

Investment: 2018

OncoSenX is a spinout of Oisin Biotechnologies, which is working to develop transient gene therapies that can fight solid tumors in cancers like lung and prostate. The therapies involve a unique delivery system that precisely carries the OncoSenX therapy to cancer cells. Pre-clinical results have been extremely promising. For more information, click here.

ORGANOVO

Investment: 2009.

Organovo designs and creates 3D human tissues that, for the first time, allow drugs to be tested on functional human tissues before they are administered to people. The company’s technology will eventually make it possible to implant therapeutic tissues into the body to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissue. Organovo has introduced the first architecturally-correct human liver and kidney tissue assays, which promise to transform drug development by reducing the cost of toxicology tests and eliminating the need for animal testing. For more information, click here.

REPAIR BIOTECHNOLOGIES

Investment: 2018

Repair Biotechnologies is committed to developing treatments for aging and age-related diseases that address the root causes of these conditions. In 2021, the company announced exciting results from a preclinical study of its Cholesterol Degrading Platform (CDP) in a mouse model of late-stage cardiovascular disease. A single treatment of the CDP drug resulted in a 48% reversal of the obstruction of aortic blood vessels by lipid-based plaque. For more information, click here.

SILVERSTONE SOLUTIONS

Investment: 2010. Acquired: 2013.

Silverstone Solutions developed kidney-pair-matching software called MatchGrid that is used by hospitals and transplant organizations to match living organ donors with patients who have willing but incompatible donors to facilitate kidney-paired donations. This enables more patients to receive a living donor kidney instead of waiting five to 10 years for a cadaver organ. The technology has saved thousands of lives. Silverstone Solutions was acquired by BiologicTx in 2013.

TURN BIO

Investment: 2018.

Turn Biotechnologies, a Silicon Valley-based company spun out of Stanford University, is focused on the rejuvenation and repair of tissue at the cellular level. It uses unique, patented mRNA platform technology to fight the effects of aging in the epigenome to restore optimal gene expression and enable cells to function as vigorously as when they were younger. The company is focused on developing cures for immune-related diseases like cancer, osteoarthritis, muscular diseases and dermatological conditions. For more information, click here.

VISCIENT BIOSCIENCES

Investment: 2019.

Viscient Biosciences is driving a revolution in drug discovery by working to replace the old paradigm of discovery in animal models. The company is focused on using 3D biology technologies to make possible animal-free medical testing that more closely approximates patient trials, but in manufactured human tissue. For more information, click here.

VOLUMETRIC

Investment: 2018. Acquired: 2021.

Volumetric developed revolutionary light-based 3D bioprinters and bio-inks that work up to 10X faster than legacy bioprinting technologies. The printers can be used to create human tissue in a laboratory environment, a key step towards alleviating the shortage of organs and tissue for transplantation. The company was acquired by 3D Systems, a leader in 3D printing technology for healthcare and industrial uses. For more information, click here.

X-THERMA

Investment: 2021

X-Therma is developing breakthrough organ- and tissue-preservation technology that promises to revolutionize regenerative medicine. The company has demonstrated a significant extension of organ shelf-life from the few hours that is today’s standard to several days. This is the first step towards making organ banking possible. Organ banking would significantly reduce the organ shortage that severely restricts the number of organ transplants performed each year. For more information, click here.

 

Partnerships

 

ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school that is focused on patient-centered clinical care, and has conducted extensive research to enhance human health. We contributed $1 million to fund its development of engineered replacement brain structures. Researchers led by Dr. Jean M. Hérbert, professor of neurosciences and genetics at Einstein, are searching for ways to correct age-related neurological damage by removing the damage and replacing it at the small tissue level without losing memories or self-identity. For more information, click here.

ALLIANCE FOR LONGEVITY INITIATIVES

The Alliance for Longevity Initiatives (A4LI) was founded with the goal of creating social and political action around the issues of combating age-related chronic conditions and increasing healthy, disease-free years. We became a sponsor in 2021. For more information, click here.

DOGELON MARS

Methuselah Foundation controls 43% of Dogelon Mars ($ELON), one of the world’s most widely held cryptocurrencies. We acquired our share of $ELON thanks to a generous donation by Vitalik Buterin, a visionary computer programmer and co-founder of Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, behind Bitcoin. We have pledged to manage our holdings to maximize the $ELON’s long-term value in order to advance our mission. In response, the Dogelon Mars community has raised funds to underwrite vascular tissue experimentation on the International Space Station. For more information about Dogelon Mars, click here. For more information about the Foundation’s commitment, click here.

FIGHT AGING!

Fight Aging! exists to promote initiatives that promise to extend healthy human longevity by raising awareness about them so they attract more attention, support and acceptance throughout the world. The organization, which began as a health blog, has become a comprehensive source of timely news about breakthrough longevity research. We have long supported Fight Aging! For more information, click here.

INSTITUTE OF COMPETITION SCIENCES

The Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS) manages the strategy, design and operations of the New Organ Initiative and has collaborated with NASA’s Centennial Challenges. The company’s mission is to encourage community engagement in science, technology and education by supporting a global network of educational competitions. ICS has supported corporate, government and non-profit prize programs. For more information, click here.

ISS NATIONAL LABORATORY

The International Space Station (ISS), managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), was designated a U.S. National Laboratory in 2005 by Congress. Its mission is to make space research and development accessible to commercial, academic and government users. The ISS National Laboratory is responsible for managing all non-NASA research that requires microgravity for Earth benefits. We have partnered with CASIS to underwrite the cost of continuing the winning Vascular Tissue Challenge experiments on the ISS. For more information, click here.

METHUSELAH FUND

The Methuselah Fund, LLC (M Fund) was created by Methuselah Foundation to make strategic investments in companies developing promising technology to extend the healthy human lifespan. M Fund exists to offer an alternative to traditional venture capital that often distracts young companies from their life-prolonging missions by insisting that they find ways to achieve premature profitability. The Fund’s successes are measured by financial return on investments and successes in furthering the mission of promoting longer, healthier lives. For more information, click here.

NASA CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES

NASA Centennial Challenges were introduced in 2005 to engage the public in the development of advanced technology by offering incentive prizes to generate revolutionary solutions to problems of interest to NASA and the nation. We have partnered with NASA on two challenges: the Vascular Tissue Challenge to create thick, metabolically functional human vascularized organ tissue in a controlled laboratory environment, and the Deep Space Food Challenge to design game-changing food production technology concepts that require minimal inputs and maximize safe, nutritious and palatable food outputs for long-duration space missions, and which have potential to benefit people on Earth. In 2021, two research teams were awarded financial prizes for being the first to complete the Vascular Tissue Challenge, and 18 U.S. and 10 international teams completed the first round of the Deep Space Food Challenge. For more information, click here.

SENS RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The SENS Research Foundation (SRF) grew out of the collaboration of two Methuselah Foundation founders – Foundation CEO David Gobel and author and biomedical gerontologist Aubrey de Grey – who decided to spin off SRF as an independent organization focused on rejuvenation biotechnologies. We became a founding donor of SRF, which funds research into the application of regenerative medicine to age-related disease, with the intent of repairing underlying damage to the body’s tissues, cells and molecules. For more information, click here.

WAKE FOREST INSTITUTE FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) is a research organization affiliated with Wake Forest School of Medicine. Its mission is to use regenerative medicine to repair or replace diseased tissues and organs. The winners of the Vascular Tissue Challenge – Team Winston, led by Dr. James Yoo, and Team WFIRM, led by Dr. Anthony Atala – both come from the institute. They successfully completed the challenge by using 3D printing technologies to create lab-grown human liver tissues that were robust enough to survive and function like healthy liver tissue in the human body. For more information, click here.

RIGHTSTORYGROUP

RightStoryGroup, LLC is a communication consulting firm that believes in the power of story-telling to support causes, promote products and services and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders. For more information, click here.