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I am a scientist originally from Porto in Portugal but have lived in Belgium and in the US (Boston), and I’m also of Spanish ancestry. Following training at Harvard Medical School, I am currently Chair of Molecular Biogerontology at the University of Birmingham in England. My lab studies aging and longevity using a combination of data-driven approaches and cellular and molecular methods. As detailed on my senescence.info website dedicated to the biology of aging, I would ultimately like my work to help people live longer, healthier lives by manipulating the human aging process. I am also a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford.

I have published over 100 scientific papers, including in top journals (e.g., Science, Nature– and Cell-family journals), and have given over 100 invited talks, including a TEDx talk on the genetics of aging. My research and I have been widely featured in scientific outlets (Science, Scientific American, New Scientist, etc.) and in the popular press (BBC, CNN, Time magazine, the Financial Times and many others). In addition, I have published several articles in popular science magazines (e.g., The Scientist and The Futurist). 

I am also an advisor/consultant to various organizations, including nonprofit foundations, universities, investment funds and biotech companies. In particular, I am Chief Scientific Officer of YouthBio Therapeutics, an ambitious US biotech company focused on longevity. I founded my own consulting company Magellan Science Ltd. 

I think the human condition is only the beginning of the extraordinary journey of the mind through the universe. Technologies like genetic engineering, stem cells, cybernetics, and nanotechnology will allow us to ‘hack’ biology and evolve beyond our current human limits. As such, I am a so-called “transhumanist” in that I defend that humankind stands a better chance of survival if we understand and employ technology rather than if we try to ban it.

My work on predicting how technology will shape the human condition has been published in magazines such as Futures and The Futurist, and in newspapers like The Independent. May the dreams of today become the future.