We're not getting any younger... yet‪.‬ The Buck Institute

Our modern world is full of potential disruptions to sleep. But as we learn more about circadian rhythm, we find that it influences everything from metabolism to mental health in different ways as we age. In this episode, Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute guides Gordon through the many interactions between sleep behavior and biology. Together they explore how new insights can help us improve our sleep health, and how researchers might target circadian rhythm to modulate the effects of aging.

Satchin Panda, PhD, is a leading expert in the field of circadian rhythm research. He is a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and a founding executive member of the Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Panda is a Pew Biomedical Scholar and a recipient of the Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research. As a recognition of the impact of his work regarding circadian rhythms and diabetes, Dr. Panda has been invited to speak at conferences around the world, including Diabetes UK, the American Diabetes Association, the Danish Diabetes Association, and the respective professional diabetes societies of Europe and Australia. He is the author of The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight.
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What is the goal of living longer? It’s not simply to celebrate a number, but to do something meaningful with that time. Renowned Stanford psychologist Laura Carstensen speaks with Gordon about the experience of aging, in the past and in the future, and why changes in culture must accompany changes in healthspan so we can flourish as a society.

Laura L. Carstensen is Professor of Psychology at Stanford University where she is the Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in Public Policy and founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. Her research on the theoretical and empirical study of motivational, cognitive, and emotional aspects of aging has been funded by the National Institute on Aging without interruption for more than 30 years. Carstensen is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She served on the MacArthur Foundation’s Research Network on an Aging Society and was a commissioner on the Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity.  Carstensen’s awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Kleemeier Award, The Richard Kalish Award for Innovative Research and distinguished mentor awards from both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Psychological Association. She is the author of A Long Bright Future: Happiness, Health, and Financial Security in an Age of Increased Longevity. Carstensen received her B.S. from the University of Rochester and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from West Virginia University. She holds an honorary doctorate from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
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We're back! In season one, we investigated the biology of aging in many different organisms to learn why and how we age. This season we'll take a close look at potential interventions that modify mechanisms of aging biology and may dramatically change the way we age in our lifetimes.

Get ready for season two of the Buck's podcast We're not getting any younger... yet. with scientist Gordon Lithgow. Subscribe today!
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Gordon and Stella revisit key concepts from the conversation with Arne Akbar, such as using sestrins to modulate T-cells and telomeres. Looking back over the course of season one, Stella and Gordon discuss the need to think about aging as an organizing principle, and how to deal with all the things we don't yet know.

Stay tuned for season two!
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What role does the immune system play in aging? How do senescent cells evade it and promote inflammation? And what does it reveal about developing effective interventions? Immunologist Arne Akbar joins Gordon to break down the array of actors and pathways involved, including sestrins, immune memory, the gut microbiome, and more. Along the way, Arne highlights the need to connect across research areas, and shares why courage is the most important quality for a scientist to cultivate.
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After the conversation with Monica Driscoll, Gordon and show editor Stella connect to discuss the link between cell death and aging, what we can learn from sending worms to space, and the need for personalized medicine in aging interventions. Finally, they look forward to the next episode with immunologist Arne Akbar.
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