(Press-News.org)
New York, NY — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the release of silverlinings.bio, an interactive report and simulation tool developed by AFAR Scholar-in-Residence Raiany Romanni-Klein, PhD, with support from AFAR, the Amaranth Foundation, and the Methuselah Foundation.
Dr. Romanni-Klein spent the last two years working with a team of economists from Harvard, the Abundance Institute, and the University of Southern Carolina to develop an interactive simulation tool with returns on investments (ROI) for specific research & development (R&D) advancements in aging science — from slowing ovarian and brain aging to running what is likely to be the first-ever clinical trial with aging as an endpoint.
At silverlinings.bio, users can input their own timelines and assumptions for specific scientific breakthroughs in aging biology, then see the ROI in terms of US lives saved & GDP growth. Through interactive data and illustrations by acclaimed design firm Pentagram, silverlinings.bio explores a wide range of the economic gains and social returns of advancing geroscience such as:
How could small advancements in the science of aging change U.S. GDP and population growth?
What would be the economic and demographic value of making 41 the new 40, or 65 the new 60?
How many lives could we create or save if we could slow reproductive or brain aging by just 1 year?
What would billions of healthier hours be worth to the economy?
For this project, Dr. Romanni-Klein interviewed 102 scientists to map expected timelines for specific advancements in aging science; funding amounts required; and to document research opportunities with low commercial incentives but potential for high social and/or economic returns. Among the scientists and stakeholders who lent insights were AFAR President Tom Rando, MD, PhD; Board members Nir Barzilai, MD, Alex Coville, PhD, and Michael Ringel, JD, PhD; as well as AFAR grantees Anne Brunet, PhD, Kristen Fortney, PhD, Jennifer Garrison, PhD, Vera Gorbunova, PhD, and Matthew Kaeberlein, PhD. AFAR Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research recipients Daniel Belsky, PhD, and Jamie Justice, PhD, were also interviewed for this project.
Dr. Romanni-Klein shares: "My ambition is for silverlinings.bio to serve as a connective tissue between scientists, economists, policymakers, and even taxpayers. Science doesn’t advance in a vacuum, and I’m thrilled to have brought together world-class researchers from across disciplines to think through how to outline, quantify, and communicate progress in aging biology."
Dr. Romanni-Klein's tool and research compliments research on the socioeconomic impact of extending healthspan, often referred to as the longevity dividend, published by AFAR-supported scholars over the past two decades. AFAR Irving S. Wright Award recipient, S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, co-authored the foundational article, "Substantial Health Economic Returns From Delayed Aging May Warrant A New Focus For Medical Research" in Health Affairs in 2013. Along with global economist Andrew J. Scott, DPhil, AFAR grantee David A. Sinclair, AO, PhD, published "The Economic Value of Targeting Aging" in Nature Aging in 2021.
"By delaying or preventing age-related diseases, geroscience fuels economic growth at local, national and global levels by reducing medical costs for people and families and helping people remain in the workforce longer," notes Stephanie Lederman, EdM, AFAR Executive Director. "We must continue to find and fund the most promising aging research today in order for these broad-reaching benefits to be realized in the near future."
Explore silverlinings.bio here.
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About AFAR - The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is a national non-profit organization that supports and advances pioneering biomedical research that is revolutionizing how we live healthier and longer. For more than four decades, AFAR has served as the field’s talent incubator, providing $225,316,000 to 4,539 investigators at premier research institutions to date—and growing. A trusted leader and strategist, AFAR also works with public and private funders to steer high quality grant programs and inter-disciplinary research networks. AFAR-funded researchers are finding that modifying basic cellular processes can delay—or even prevent—many chronic diseases, often at the same time. They are discovering that it is never too late—or too early—to improve health. This groundbreaking science is paving the way for innovative new therapies that promise to improve and extend our quality of life—at any age. Learn more at www.afar.org.
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