Physicians and scientists join forces to develop the longevity medicine curriculum

16th of March, Tuesday, 2021 — Longevity medicine is a rapidly evolving branch of preventative precision medicine that is specifically focused on promoting healthspan and lifespan, utilizing aging biomarkers commonly referred to as aging clocks. Over the past decade advances in AI and machine learning enabled the development of deep aging clocks (DACs) and other novel tools to track the rate of aging. In parallel novel preventative and therapeutic interventions have been discovered or progressed into clinical trials. Many medical and public health professionals do not have time to read the thousands of research papers covering this new field and actively engage in cutting-edge innovation in preventative medicine. And there are few educational resources that outline the benefits of longevity medicine. However, in order for the field to evolve, it is important that these materials are easily accessible for the broad medical community and presented at the level acceptable by the general medical practitioners.

In the comment titled “Longevity medicine: upskilling the physicians of tomorrow” (Lancet Healthy Longevity, 2021) Evelyne Bischof, MD, Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, PhD, Richard Siow, PhD, Alexey Moskalev, PhD, summarise current findings on the main types of deep aging clocks, longevity medicine and reflect on the necessary education in this field.

Multiple institutions providing medical education are now actively seeking collaborations with artificial intelligence experts to create educational content that will help medical professionals acquire new skills in artificial intelligence for healthcare. However, it was not until 2020 when the first educational curriculum in longevity medicine for physicians was created by the team of scientists and clinicians, led by the artificial intelligence and longevity scientist and entrepreneur, Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD.

In connection with the article calling for more educational resources scientists launched the first longevity medicine course for physicians.

The course provided the physicians and other medical professionals with the introduction to the theoretical and practical basics of longevity medicine, which includes molecular mechanisms, theories of aging, biomarkers of aging, and geroprotector regimens. This course, as well as similar courses, provide medical and public health professionals with the baseline knowledge required to understand aging research, knowledge about longevity therapies available related to senescence-related processes, and the skills to examine biomarkers of aging and other age testing mechanisms. The course discusses advances in research in drug design, machine learning, omics, differential diagnosis, biogerontology, geroprotective interventions and healthcare organisations while also educating medical clinicians on how to implement them on a daily basis.

Physicians and medical professionals can register for this course at Udemy at no charge during the promotional periods, take the course at their own pace at any time, and receive a certificate of completion. The next promotion will transpire from 16th to 24th March 2021 on Udemy Platform (coupon codes: LONGEVITYMEDICINE, FREELONGEVITY2021) and students registering for this course will be able to start the course at any time and receive a certificate of completion.

The authors also agreed to collaborate on a course to be available free of charge to physicians and the general public at https://www.longevity.degree/

“Longevity physicians are looking for ways to reduce the gap between the current parameters, such as the current biological age, and the parameters of optimal maximum physical performance, such as the ideal biological age, predicted by deep learning. It is essential that practicing doctors have access to the appropriate longevity medicine education through a credible curriculum”, said Evelyne Bischof, MD.

“The emergence of reliable markers for human aging now allows us to understand what interventions reduce the rate of aging. We are on the cusp of a new era in medicine where age-associated diseases and perhaps aging itself can be slowed or even halted. Education about interventions leading to healthy aging is paramount for allowing everyone a healthier and longer life”, said Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, PhD.

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The article is available as open access in Lancet Healthy Longevity:

Lancet Healthy Longev 2021 Published Online March 25, 2021

https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00024-6