David Sinclair, “Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To”

Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 3:00PM
No charge for Four Arts members
Reservations required

David Sinclair
The Harold and Helen Bernstein Memorial Lecture

David A. Sinclair, A.O., Ph.D. is regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on human longevity. As a professor of genetics, he heads a leading research lab that investigates why we age. In 2020, his lab was the first to show that the aging process can be safely modulated in an animal study to cure blindness, a discovery that has led to multi-billion-dollar investments aiming to treat human diseases and extend lifespan by stemming the aging process. He is an honorary Professor at the University of Sydney and co-founder of the scientific journal Aging.

He obtained a BS and a Ph.D. in Sydney Australia, then moved to M.I.T. where he discovered why yeast cells age, the first proven cause of aging for any organism. In 1999, he was hired at Harvard Medical School at the age of 29 and promoted to tenured full Professor in 2008. The yeast discovery led him to propose the “Information Theory of Aging,” which has become adopted as an explanation for why we grow old and why it is possible to stem the process.

Dr. Sinclair is an inventor on more than 50 patents, 180 papers that have been cited 96,000 times. His more than 40 awards include Innovator of the Year, NIH’s Pioneer Award, an Excellence in Teaching Award at Harvard, Genzyme Outstanding Achievement Award, Telluride Technology Award, and one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people and Top 50 people in healthcare. He is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded more than a dozen successful companies including MetroBiotech, EdenRoc Sciences and Life Biosciences. In 2018, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), the equivalent of a knighthood, for his work in scientific communication and national security.

Dr. Sinclair and his work have been featured on “60 Minutes,” “Today,” The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune and Newsweek, among other publications. His New York Times best-selling book Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To is published in more than 20 languages and his podcast, Lifespan with David Sinclair, is a top podcast in the health and fitness category. In 2022, he cofounded Fully Aligned LLC with Serena Poon, CN, CHC, CHN, which partnered with global talent agency William Morris Endeavor to democratize access to knowledge and tools to enhance mind and body wellbeing across multiple communications platforms and verticals.

Harold and Helen Bernstein were passionate philanthropists known for their generous support of many charitable causes, especially the arts. Beyond their financial support, Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein also gave their time and experience by serving on countless boards and committees, advocating for the causes close to their hearts. They eagerly attended lectures and other events at The Four Arts. After Harold’s death in 2004, Helen established the biennial Bernstein Memorial Lecture in his memory. Continuing the tradition of charitable support, the Bernstein family later renamed the lecture the “Harold and Helen Bernstein Memorial Lecture” after Helen’s passing in 2014.