Professor Brian Kennedy is one of the world’s leading authorities on the biology of ageing and healthy longevity. Over more than three decades, his research has helped shape how scientists understand, measure and potentially intervene in the ageing process.
Rather than approaching chronic diseases individually, Kennedy’s work explores a more fundamental question: can targeting the biological processes of ageing itself extend healthspan and reduce the burden of age-related disease?
As a doctoral researcher in Leonard Guarente’s laboratory at MIT, Kennedy co-authored the first study linking sirtuins to ageing, helping to open one of the most significant areas of research in longevity science.
At the University of Washington, his laboratory produced seminal research identifying mTOR as a conserved regulator of longevity. His group subsequently demonstrated that alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), a naturally occurring metabolite, can extend lifespan and compress morbidity in mammals.
Kennedy has also played an important role in developing the field of geroscience – the framework connecting the underlying biology of ageing with the chronic diseases that account for a substantial proportion of healthcare burden.
He is among the most highly cited scientists in ageing biology, with more than 300 publications and approximately 40,000 citations.
From 2010 to 2016, Kennedy served as President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, the world’s first research institute devoted solely to ageing.
Today, he is Distinguished Professor at the National University of Singapore, Chair of the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme and Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University Health System. He has also been appointed Chief Scientist for Singapore’s national healthy longevity programme.
Kennedy advises governments, investors and biotechnology companies and is Co-Founder and Chair of LiveBeyond, which focuses on translating advances in longevity science into clinical practice and real-world applications.
He has spoken at leading international forums including the Milken Institute, Longevity Summits, TEDx and longevity forums convened at Davos alongside the World Economic Forum.
Why Book Professor Brian Kennedy?
Longevity is rapidly moving beyond the laboratory to become a major issue for business, healthcare, governments and individuals. Professor Brian Kennedy brings the science behind this transformation directly to audiences.
Drawing on more than three decades at the forefront of ageing research, he explains complex longevity science in the context of the questions that matter: Can we slow biological ageing? Can we extend the number of years we live in good health? Which interventions are supported by science? And what could longer, healthier lives mean for society and the global economy?
For corporate and conference audiences, Kennedy provides an authoritative scientific perspective on one of the defining developments of the coming decades – the shift from simply treating age-related disease towards understanding and potentially targeting the ageing process itself.
His combination of pioneering research, institutional leadership and experience advising governments, investors and biotechnology companies enables him to connect cutting-edge science with its wider implications for healthcare, innovation, investment and society.
Professor Brian Kennedy is particularly suited to leadership conferences, healthcare and pharmaceutical events, financial and investment forums, technology conferences and programmes exploring the future of human health and longevity.
Speaking Topics
1. “We Should Be the First Generation That Chooses How We Age”
The science has caught up: we can now measure how fast we’re ageing and act on it. Waiting for more data is no longer an excuse.
2. “Healthcare Is What Gives You Longevity. Sick Care Is What Keeps You Sick.”
Why medicine only acts once you have a disease code, and why the biggest window to intervene is while we’re still healthy.
3. Asia/Singapore Has the Opportunity to Build the Future of Longevity
What a whole country can do when it treats healthy longevity as national strategy, from the scientist leading that programme. Particularly strong for Asia-facing and policy audiences.
– Ageing as the root cause of chronic disease, and the geroscience case for treating it
– Biological age and ageing clocks: what the numbers mean and what you can do with them
– Longevity interventions that can scale, from repurposed drugs to low-cost biomarker tests
– Separating science from hype in the longevity industry
– Healthy longevity for health systems, governments and employers
– Women’s health and reproductive longevity
– Where longevity science is heading, and what we still don’t know about why we age
