Two Israeli Researchers Named Among TIME’s Longevity Leaders for Aging Breakthroughs

TIME magazine recently highlighted 12 leading researchers making significant progress in longevity science, including two Israelis: geneticist Prof. Nir Barzilai and systems biologist Prof. Uri Alon from the Weizmann Institute. Both scientists approach aging from different angles but share the goal of extending healthy lifespan.

Prof. Barzilai’s work focuses on whether existing drugs can delay age-related diseases by targeting the biology of aging itself rather than treating individual illnesses. He has studied "super-agers" who live beyond 100 years and identified genetic factors linked to slower aging and disease resistance. Barzilai is leading the SuperAgers initiative, aiming to enroll 10,000 people aged 95 and older and their families to discover additional longevity genes. He is also preparing clinical trials to test if metformin, a diabetes medication, can postpone heart disease and cancer, with plans to explore GLP-1 drugs for similar purposes.

Prof. Uri Alon’s research emphasizes the genetic contribution to lifespan. In January, he and colleagues reported that genetics may account for about 50% of human lifespan variation, a much higher estimate than the previously accepted 20-30%. Alon also studies menopause’s connection to aging. He argues that slowing aging could simultaneously prevent multiple age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia, metabolic disorders, and heart disease, effectively serving as preventive medicine for these conditions.

Both researchers have shared their findings in interviews with Globes and TIME, underscoring the growing scientific consensus that understanding and intervening in the aging process could revolutionize healthcare by extending the years people live in good health. Their work reflects a shift in medicine towards targeting aging biology to improve quality of life in old age.